Morning Glory Muffins

Glorious mornings deserve morning glory muffins.

Breakfast is perhaps the only meal that can also be dessert without anyone raising an eyebrow, and I like to take advantage of that. These muffins are sweet and full of autumn spices, but —before you feel guilt creeping in — they're also packed with veggies. 

Hearty, filling and full of flavor, these morning glory muffins make the perfect portable breakfast or snack. 

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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

• 1 cups almond flour (or raw almonds processed in blender)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats + 1 cup oat flour (oats processed in blender)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
• ½ cup raisins
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 flax eggs (total of 3 tbsp ground flax seed + ½ cup hot water)
• 1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 zucchini)
• 1 cup grated carrot (about 2 carrots)
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (90g)
• ½ cup maple syrup or agave (120g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F and prep a baking tin by lightly greasing it with oil or using paper liners. Prepare your flax egg by combining the ground flax seed with hot water and letting stand until thick, about 5 minutes.

2. Grate the carrot and zucchini with a fine grater. Lightly squeeze any excess moisture from the grated zucchini. 

3. If you are using whole oats or whole almonds, process in a blender or food processor until they are a fine powder. Reminder: 1 cup of oats should remain whole. Combine almond flour, rolled oats, oat flour, nuts, raisins and spices in a bowl, stirring well to combine.

4. Add all wet ingredients (including shredded veggies and flax eggs) together and stir well. Combine with dry mixture.

5. Spoon batter into a greased or lined muffin tin. This batter should be quite thick (this makes for a heartier muffin, and what's a morning glory muffin if not hearty). 

6. Bake at 350 °F for 25 minutes, or until the tops have browned slightly and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool slightly and enjoy! 

Tips and Tricks:

*A flax egg acts to bind ingredients in the way an egg would, but it's vegan! This is a common ingredient in many vegan baking recipes. After the flax egg sets, it will be thick and gelatinous, like a whisked egg.