Over the past few weeks something disturbing has been happening. I step on the scale and it is stuck at a not so nice number. Dan has been having the same, but opposite experience. We’ve both decided that breakfast was in part to blame.
Dan has started swimming at 6:30 in the morning and while this is much better than having him gone for dinner every night, it makes breakfast even harder than usual. I never wake up early enough to make eggs, cereal is not transportable, and so I was at a loss. I was thinking about making protein shakes but then I remembered that Diana from The Chic Life had made green monster muffins. And as Gru would say “Liiiight bulb”
I have loved muffins for a long time and they are so easy to transport and so easy to add extras too. I’m learning that this means that recipes can be adapted to reduce calories and to increase and so I decided to do both. Even better, the addition of chia seeds, flax seed meal and protein powder got the nutritionals to be pretty decent (although I would like more fiber).
My only caution is to have a mirror handy after you eat these. Between the spinach and the chia seeds, the muffins are land mines!
- 1/2 cup oat bran
- 1 cup flour
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup flax seed meal
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 scoop protein powder
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup packed spinach (really really packed)
- 2 tsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup applesauce
See Directions below
- 1 cup oat bran
- 2 cup flour
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 cup flax seed meal
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 egg
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cup packed spinach (really really packed)
- 2 tsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 6 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup applesauce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Measure out the spinach and process in the food processor until it is totally broken down. Zest lemon. Combine the spinach and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.
In a medium bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the egg and sugar until totally combined. Add in the spinach and the rest of the wet ingredients. Once the wet ingredients are totally combined, add in the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, closer to 30 for the bigger muffins.
Beth Green Monster Muffins (per muffin):
Cals: 173, Fat: 5, Carb: 28, Fiber: 2, Protein: 5
Dan Green Monster Muffins (per giant muffin):
Cals: 522, Fat: 21, Carb: 83, Fiber: 6, Protein: 8
