I strongly believe that there are naked cupcakes parading as muffins at our supermarkets. These sneaky sugary baked goods don’t don their beautiful frosted crowns in their attempt to sneak into our breakfasts.
LOL. OK. It’s not that serious but there are a few differences between muffins and cupcakes which can make muffins a great breakfast option. Muffins can be savory or mildly sweet; they typically have much less sugar than a cupcake. Many times muffins are also packed with fruit and nuts. In addition, compared to cupcakes, muffins are denser and maybe a bit drier. While writing this post, I was happy to see that even the folks at thekitchn have similar feelings about the muffin-cupcake comparison.
When choosing a muffin for my breakfast, I like to keep in mind the protein and refined carbohydrate content. Compared to carbohydrates, fats and proteins are more satiating; that is, by increasing the fats and proteins in your meals you will feel full longer and therefore, eat less. So yes, that large chocolate chip “muffin” looks tempting, but will it stave off hunger for more than an hour? If you want an on-the-go muffin that will keep you satisfied without a sugar crash beyond your commute to work, then your muffin needs to contain whole grains and protein.
I first came up with this carrot apple oat muffin a few years ago. I was put in charge of coming up with an easy-to-carry breakfast for a group of friends for our early-morning shopping trip. These are pretty simple to make and taste amazing. They’re dense but moist and go great with a cup of tea or coffee. Each muffin contains only 281 calories with 11 grams of protein.
Prep time: 10 minutes . Cook time: 20 minutes . Yield: Serves 6
2 Cups Rolled Oats
1 Cup Carrots, shredded
1 Cup Plain Full Fat Greek Yogurt
1 Medium apple, diced
2 Eggs
1 Banana
0 to 4 Tbsp Brown Sugar (we used 2 Tbsp; adjust based on desired sweetness)
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon, ground
1 Tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Walnuts, chopped
Pinch of salt
Rolled Oats for garnish
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Line muffin tray with large paper baking cups or coat with cooking spray.
- Blend oats until it has a flour-like textures. This may take 15-60 seconds depending on your blender. Pour the blended oats into a large bowl. Add carrots, apple, walnuts, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set aside
- In the blender combine eggs, bananas, brown sugar, vanilla and yogurt. Blend until smooth.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix well until batter is uniform.
- In each muffin tin, add about 2/3 cup of batter. Sprinkle a few oats on each muffin for garnish.
- Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition per serving (1 Muffin): 281 Cals; 35g Carb; 12g Fat; 11g Protein; 6g Dietary Fiber
Nutrition calculated using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Importer
