More breakfast treats

As long-time readers know, my decision-making skills in the morning are not at their best.  I'm also on the road a lot, and often don't get up early enough to sit down and eat breakfast (today, for instance, I left the house at 5:50 with Verismo Trio to catch a flight to Boise.  Ugh.)  Therefore, I like to bake big batches of muffins and other slightly dessert-like treats and then I can just grab for something in the morning without having to think about it.  Without this crucial planning, I tend to wind up eating Doritos or leftover green beans for breakfast, which doesn't always go so well.  Here are a couple more reasonably healthy muffin recipes--they freeze well and can be defrosted overnight on the countertop or simply microwaved for 20 seconds in the morning.

Island Muffins

12 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup coconut (or canola) oil

1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple in its own juice, drained and juice reserved

½ cup pineapple juice from the can

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup finely grated carrot

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine carrot, vanilla, pineapple juice, coconut oil, and brown sugar with a whisk.  Stir in pineapple juice, then add all dry ingredients, stirring thoroughly to combine.  Scoop batter into muffin tin and bake 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

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Lemon-Tahini Muffins

12 servings

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup raisins

½ cup milk (cow, soy, almond…doesn’t matter)

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons ground flax seeds

3 tablespoons tahini (or you could use any other nut butter)

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a large bowl, combine milk, oil, tahini, sugar, and lemon juice; combine thoroughly.  Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  The batter will be sticky and a bit on the thick side.  Spoon into the muffin tin and bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.