Breakfast Muffin
Wow... it's no longer January and I haven't finished my Breakfast challenge... Bad girl! Technically I have... I made the foods... I just havent uploaded them all (oops!). So here they come... now that my designer/photographer/personal assistant/husband has some spare time I can use it all up getting him to upload my food photos!
Notice my breakfast muffin doesn't have the evil letters m and c before it. It's not a breakfast muffin as mcdonalds would have you think of it... it's not even an English muffin.. it's a good old fashioned muffin like your mum would make.
Now, don't get me wrong here, we must clear up some issues when it comes to muffins. They are essentially just little cakes (and some of them aint so little either!) So the key to choosing a good muffin is to get past the eyes bigger than your belly mentality. Bigger is seldom better when it comes to food portions, and cake (AKA muffins) is a definite smaller portion preference item.
In saying all that against muffins, these muffins are a good breakfast choice. They're packed with veges, seeds, fibre, and they're easy to grab on the run. I know many people don't have the time or effort to put in to a sit down meal like overnight oats, and while I always advocate sitting down and enjoying your meal, sometimes time does not allow and having something is always better than nothing.
These muffins are over 300 calories each so they (like I said earlier) are high calorie like most baked goods, BUT the calories come from good stuff... no butter, no white flour, there's a fair bit of sugar in them so that could be worked on... but there's always room for improvement!
If you have a bit more time on your hands, heat one up a little and top with a dollop of low fat greek yoghurt... nom nom!
Breakfast Muffins
2 cups wholemeal flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated carrot
1 large tart apple, grated
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
½ cup coconut
½ cup sultanas or raisins
3 eggs
½ cup EVOO (or light neutral flavoured oil)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (could try with wheatgerm instead but I love seeds!)
¼ cup orange juice
2/3 cup oil (these were quite heavy and I think I'll reduce this next time)
Cover raisins with hot water and leave to soak up and get all plump.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, spices and salt.
Stir in carrot, apple, coconut, nuts and seeds (or wheatgerm)
In another bowl beat eggs, oil, vanilla and juice.
Drain raisins and add all together and stir til moistened.
Divide in to tins and fill to the brim.
Bake for 25-28 mins @ 180.
Make sure the pans are well greased, or that you use paper cases as these have a lot of ingredients with great sticking power!
They freeze well, and I tend to do this because of the high vege content they tend to not last real well fresh. Frozen means you can grab, reheat and eat at your convenience!
Do remember though, they're not low sugar or low fat and are still little cakes!
