Garden Patch Muffins v.1.3

The muffins I made for the Food Blogger bake sale are actually the third incarnation of what was formerly known as *potentially* the healthiest muffins ever. Except now I don't think there's as much of a focus on health as much as how many different things can I stuff into a little muffin...

The vegetables and fruit - carrots, zucchini and apple - are the same, but I have added different spices and also swapped out some of the flax from the previous version with oat bran. I also traded some nuts for raisins, so now it's more like a Morning Glory Muffin, except... *Oooh!* those have coconut in them! Well, then...


I did contemplate switching my liquid ingredient from applesauce to yogurt for more protein, but 1 cup of yogurt = 11 g protein ÷ 12 muffins = not worth it. However, I did end up making half of the muffins with *gasp* oil because I spoiled half of my first batch of muffins by forgetting to copy down a crucial ingredient - baking soda! - into my new recipe (Really, I'm the girl who has forgotten to bring her tickets to a Flames game and to bring my gym bag to the gym) and I wasn't about to buy a new jar of applesauce that would take me forever to finish anyway. I didn't taste either so I don't know if there was a significant difference (other than calories and fat) between the two - sorry!


Either way, it turned out the make-up batch of muffins may not have been necessary as the muffins weren't very popular anyway :( I think all people saw were cellophane and ribbons instead of healthy muffin goodness - lesson learned.


Still, my sister and I had fun in our little muffin-wrapping "sweatshop" session:

Garden Patch Muffins v.1.3
Makes about a dozen muffins

• ½ cup (125 mL) sugar
  
• 1 egg
  
• ¼ cup (60 mL) unsweetened applesauce
  
• ¾ cup (185 mL) whole wheat flour
  
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) ground flaxseed
  
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) oat bran
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
  
• ½ tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
  
• ½ tsp (2 mL) ground ginger
  
• ¼ tsp (1 mL)cloves
  
• 2 cups (500 mL) total of grated carrots, zucchini and apple
  
• ¼ cup (60 mL) walnuts, chopped
  
• ¼ cup (60 mL) raisins

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.
   
3. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, flaxseed, oat bran, spices and baking soda. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients - the batter will be a little dry here, but don't worry because the vegetables are going to add moisture!
   
4. Fold in vegetables, walnuts and raisins. Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter into prepared cups.
   
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Nutrition Info (per muffin): 107 calories, 2 g fat (0.3 g saturated), 17 mg cholesterol, 20 g carbohydrate (2 g fibre, 12 g sugar), 3 g protein, 116 mg sodium. An excellent source of manganese. A good source of selenium.