Lighter Morning Glory Muffins

Here is a recipe I recently made that I thought I would share with you. The original muffin recipe is already pretty healthy, however I really wanted to experiment a bit more with it (mostly cutting down the sugar and swapping out the oil for applesauce). They aren't quite as sweet, but they are very hearty muffins and I think they turned out quite nice. A cup of hot coffee, a spread of butter and I'm set for the day! I hope you like these muffins as much as I do. Let me know if you make them and what you think!

LIGHTER MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes: 12-16 muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt 
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats 
• 1/3 cup raisins 
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce 
• 1 large egg 
• 1/3 cup skim milk 
• 4 medium carrots, shredded 
• 1 medium ripe banana, mashed
• 1 tablespoon espresso coffee, cooled (optional)
• Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°F

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

1. If adding the coffee, brew now and let cool. I use my 1-cup Moka Express to brew my espresso.
2. Mash banana on a flat plate using a fork, shred carrots and set both aside. 
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Stir in oats and raisins. Add in your applesauce, egg, milk, shredded carrots, mashed banana and espresso (not sure if it makes a huge change to the taste, but I kind of like the addition of strong coffee in my muffins). Stir until everything is blended. 
4. Evenly distribute batter to all 12 muffin cups (I actually tend to use more like 16 cups, but this makes a slightly smaller muffin). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Because I live at a higher altitude, I find things bake faster here (or maybe it's just my oven), so I usually check a little earlier than the recipe states. 

NUTRITION
Per muffin (12 muffins)