*Potentially* the healthiest muffins ever, reprised

Almost two years ago I posted a recipe for what I thought could be the healthiest muffins ever, but not so much because the recipe still used 1 cup of sugar (!!!) OK, so the cup of sugar was divided over a dozen muffins, but still, plenty of room for improvement.

In between batches of granola, I whipped these up (pretty quickly, surprisingly) as part of a gift to someone in my life who, let's just say, tends to make unhealthier choices...


So in addition to decreasing the amount of sugar, I tried to ramp up the fibre and omega-3s with by replacing some of the flour with ground flaxseed... I also swapped out the walnuts for pecans. Yes, I know the walnuts are higher in omega-3s, but he likes pecans and pecans are more... Christmas-y (you don't see people serving spiced or candied walnuts now, do you?) Unfortunately the vegetables and fruit don't do much nutritionally, but they do add flavour and texture (leave the peel on your zucchini for some gorgeous flecks of green - I tried to do the same with the apple but the peel was too thick for grating) Now... if only I could get just a little more fibre and a lot more protein into them - but before I turn them into a Frankenfood, knowing that the muffins at Tim's have triple the calories and sugar that these ones do, I think these are still the safer bet ;)

Potentially the Healthiest Muffins Ever (aka Veggie Muffins aka I Need to Find a More Attractive Name for These Muffins)
Adapted from this recipe, which was adapted from AllRecipes.com
Makes 12 muffins

• ½ cup (125 mL) sugar*
  
• 1 egg
  
• ¼ cup (60 mL) unsweetened applesauce
  
• ¾ cup (185 mL) whole wheat flour
  
• ¼ cup (60 mL) ground flaxseed
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
  
• ½ tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
  
• ½ cup (125 mL) pecans, chopped
  
• 2 cups carrot, zucchini and/or apple, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line muffin pan with muffin cups.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix the sugar with the eggs. Add the applesauce and mix well. Mix in flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. Stir in the nuts and vegetables. Ladle batter into prepared cups.
   
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Nutrition Info (per muffin)**: 114 calories, 4 g fat (0.5 g saturated), 17 mg cholesterol, 17 g carbohydrate (2 g fibre, 10 g sugar), 3 g protein, 116 mg sodium. An excellent source of vitamin E and manganese. *You may want to bump this up to ⅔ cup if not using apple **Incorrectly assumes an equal proportion of carrot, zucchini and apple