Morning Glory Muffins

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THE WHY BEHIND THIS RECIPE

I love a morning on-the-go breakfast item that is nutrient dense, delicious, and won’t send me on a blood sugar rollercoaster. It’s especially important for breakfast (aka breaking your fast… break-fast — the first time I realized that, I was far too old) that you have something nutrient dense and blood sugar friendly because it will prevent you from having the crash that often follows a high-carb or high-sugar breakfast. That blood sugar rollercoaster is what leads to fatigue, irritability, and cravings, or hunger just a few hours later.

You all LOVE my breakfast biscuits, so I wanted to develop another sweet-ish + savory bread-y on the go breakfast option that is packed with micronutrients, fiber, and protein. Morning glory muffins are often filled with brown sugar, orange juice, sweetened raisins and other things that are NOT GLORIOUS!

This recipe is primarily sweetened with banana, and it’s got good stuff like zucchini, carrots, walnuts, coconut, flax, and almond flour (can sub coconut flour). These caused me a gentle 10 mg/dL point rise on my continuous glucose monitor (CGM). This muffin gives me cozy fall vibes, and every day this week I genuinely looked forward to getting up and heating one up with a little grass-fed butter or nut butter on top! Each muffin is about 8g of protein, so if I am having this for breakfast I’ll have some greek yogurt or eggs in addition (to get closer to my goal 30g of protein at breakfast). I also love these muffins as a little pre-or post-workout snack. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Yields: 12 medium muffins or 9 large muffins

Total time: ~45 minutes

• Prep time: 10 minutes

• Cook time: ~25-35 minutes pending your muffin size

WHAT YOU NEED

TOOLS

• One large mixing bowl

• Measuring cups/spoons

• Grater

• Chef’s knife (I love my new Made In knife!)

• Mixing spoon

• Silicone muffin tray

• Nut milk bag or paper towel (to squeeze excess water out of zucchini)

INGREDIENTS

WET

• 1 small zucchini, graded and squeezed of excess moisture with a nut bag or paper towel

• 1 1/2 cup carrots, shredded (about 2 medium carrots or 1 large carrot)

• 1 ripe banana, mashed

• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup or 1/4 cup allulose

• 2 eggs

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

DRY

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour (or your preferred nut flour or coconut flour if allergic to nuts)

• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch

• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

• 1/2 cup ground flax

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tsp cardamom

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder (optional, if you add this, add 2 tbsp milk of choice. I always add in the protein powder!)

MIX IN

• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or any nut of choice)

HOW TO DO IT

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.

2. Grade your carrots and zucchini using a box grater or microplane.

3. Using a nut milk bag or paper towel, squeeze out excess water from shredded zucchini.

4. In a large mixing bowl, start by cracking your two eggs and whisking until smooth. Add mashed banana (or just add in the banana and mash it with a fork directly into the bowl), zucchini, carrots, allulose or maple syrup, melted coconut oil, olive oil and vanilla extract. Stir well.

5. Next, add all of your dry ingredients - almond flour, arrowroot starch, shredded unsweetened coconut, ground flax, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ground ginger, kosher salt. If you add vanilla protein powder, add in 2 tbsp of milk of choice.

6. Mix in walnuts or nut of choice.

7. Scoop into muffin pan. This recipe makes 12 medium muffins or 9 larger muffins.

8. Bake for 22-28 minutes if you have 12 muffins, and approximately 30-35 minutes if you have 9 larger muffins. Check at about 20 minutes. The top should be golden brown and either a knife comes out clean or when you slightly press your finger on top of the muffin, it bounces back a little!

FULL VIDEO

SWAPS, TIPS & TRICKS

• Almond flour: Swap for coconut flour.

• Ground flax: Take flax seeds and grind them in a food processor or blender if you don’t have ground flax.

• Storage: Keep in the fridge for up to a week and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

• Make them vegan: For this recipe, instead of the eggs, mix one additional tablespoon of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water until it's thick and creamy and add an additional 2 tbsp coconut oil.

• Eat with nut butter: To add a little more protein, I like to spread a nut butter on top of these when I eat them!

Nutritional Info

Per serving, makes about 12 servings

Calories: 295
Carbohydrates: 18g
Fiber: 6g
Net carbs: 12g
Protein: 8g
Fat: 25g
Sodium: 290mg
Sugar: 3g