The 70s was a time known for hippie foods like GORP (the original trail mix known in its long form as Good Ole Raisin Peanuts), homemade yogurt, and sprouts grown in kitchen windows. My mom embraced the era wholeheartedly. Our family ate French-style yogurt fermented in little electric pots, avocado and sprout sandwiches made on thick slices of seedy homemade bread, and hearty soups like creamy broccoli and cauliflower, which was a common breakfast served alongside open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches sprinkled with garlic salt. Our pockets always contained baggies of GORP to sustain us on long days of skiing up at the mountain, and it seemed like the juicer was always running, cranking out fresh elixirs like carrot-apple and cucumber-pear. We tease Mom now for not allowing any white flour or sugar in the house, (especially for her not-so-popular whole wheat, honey, carob chip cookies), but we're grateful for the nutritious foods she prepared that nourished our growing bodies and the foundation of healthy eating she built for us. It's how I feed my own family today - minus the carob chip cookies.
These Morning Glory muffins remind me of the kind my mom used to make us when we were kids. They're chock full of healthy grains, seeds, fruits and vegetables, and spices. There's no added fat in these muffins, just eggs and milk to bind the ingredients together. I've also made these with zucchini and banana and have played around with the combination of nuts and seeds. Have fun with your ingredients, it's what makes these muffins so wonderful!
To keep the grams of sugar down I use lower-glycemic organic coconut sugar (35 on the glycemic index compared to 60-65 for white and brown sugars). If you want an even lower-GI sweetener, try Swerve, a 0-GI diabetes-friendly sugar replacement that's a blend of erythritol and stevia. You can buy organic coconut sugar and Swerve on Amazon or look for both at your local health food store.
These muffins are a perfect on-the-go breakfast or as an afternoon snack. I've even made them as cupcakes and iced them with vanilla cream cheese icing for our daughter and her friends (they love them!).
Here's to eating goodness in a muffin cup!
Morning Glory Muffins
1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
3/4 cup oat bran
3/4 cup organic coconut sugar, Swerve, or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or a bit more if you like them spicy like I do!)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup carrots, grated
1 large apple, grated
3/4 cup raisin or dried fruit of your choice (chop the larger ones into raisin-size pieces)
Optional: 1 cup walnuts or pecans, or a mixture of nuts and seeds, such as sunflower
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla, then add the grated carrots, apples, and raisins. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Be careful to not over mix. Note: the consistency will be more like a dough than a batter.
Fill muffin cups almost full. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes for regular size muffins or 12-13 minutes for mini muffins, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
