Healthy Carrot Oat Muffins

For my kids, homemade muffins are one of the best snacks to have on hand.  I love baking up a batch of healthy fresh muffins to begin the week so that we have them for breakfasts and lunch snacks.  



These muffins are healthy, dairy free and whole wheat.  And if using Maple Syrup instead of honey they are vegan too!



I was not feeling like grating carrots but really wanted a carrot muffin. So I decided to try using the food processor to do the job!  Guess what?  It worked brilliantly!

The batter came out nice and thick but mixed easily together.  I so love an easy muffin recipe.  Mis all the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients and combine.  DONE!  

I decided to make a batch of BIG muffins and a batch of BABY muffins too!  Easy for Fraser to eat and it also meant Gord won't be cutting up a big muffin (for Fraser) on the cutting board and leaving the crumbs behind for me!  

Healthy Carrot Oat Muffin Recipe

Makes 15 muffins (or 12 muffins and 12 mini muffins) 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole Wheat Flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. Almond milk
• ½ cup pure maple syrup (or honey) 
• 3 Tbsp melted coconut Oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups peeled, grated carrot* (about 2 medium)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole-wheat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.
3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, milk, maple syrup (or honey), melted butter (or coconut oil), and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots.
5. Divide the batter evenly between muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the top. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Storage: The muffins freeze very well. If kept air-tight in a zip-top plastic bag, they will stay fresh in the freezer for 2-3 months. Defrost on the counter or in the microwave before enjoying. Muffins will keep at room temperature for 2-3 days.

*I used my food processor to make grating the carrots quick and easy. A box grater works well too but boy is it easy to put them in the food processer and much less mess!