Tag Archives: muffins

Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Posted in Breakfast by

Signs of spring are all around.

Out with puffy coats, snow, and heavy comfort foods. In with patio dining, blooming tulips, evening runs, skirts, and strawberries.

As a food blogger, I adore strawberries. In addition to being juicy and delicious, these red beauties are versatile, nutrient-packed, and photogenic. My only gripe about strawberries is that their peak season only runs from April to September. Bring on the strawberries all year long!

Strawberries are scrumptious enough to enjoy on their own, but finding creative ways to use them brings me great joy. Combining my love for strawberries and chocolate in the form of a healthy muffin with only 120 calories? Now that’s enough to put some spring in my step!

My Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins are exceptionally easy to make. You can stir all ingredients by hand – no mixer necessary! – and they take less than 30 minutes to make from setup to cleanup. The ingredient list is simple, but the texture and the flavor of the final product make these muffins heavenly. Unsweetened applesauce replaces butter or oil to produce a moist muffin that is low in fat and calories. Translation: These skinny muffins taste amazing AND will facilitate bikini season preparation. Beach body or yummy muffin? You don’t have to choose!

Making a batch of Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins is a marvelous way to celebrate the beginning of spring and, of course, strawberry season. Please join me in raising a muffin to springtime and to strawberries: cheers to a fruitful season!

Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yields: 10 muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons Truvia Baking Blend (or 1/4 cup sugar)
2 tablespoons Splenda Brown Sugar (or 1/4 cup brown sugar)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 egg white
1 cup strawberries, diced
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Mix together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars, the applesauce, and the egg white until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in strawberries and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

NUTRITION
Servings: 10
Serving size: 1 muffin
Calories: 120
Fat: 2.4g
Carbs: 23.8g
Sugar: 8.2g
Fiber: 2.5g
Protein: 2.2g

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Posted in Dessert by

I have a problem.

As I have revealed before, the number of bananas I buy every single time I go to the grocery store is superfluous. If I don’t have at least a few bananas hanging out on the counter, what happens if I eat one for a pre-run snack, slice one on top of my oatmeal, and then I get the urge to make my Banana Chocolate Chip Bread only to discover I am out of bananas?! The first stage of recovery is acknowledgement of the problem…

The second stage is a willingness to change.

I can never seem to get past this phase. This is why I end up with brown banana overload every week–and a weekly justification to devise new ways to use them.

This week’s invention: Double Chocolate Banana Muffins.

More like an indulgent dessert than a breakfast muffin, these muffins are a (healthy) chocolate version of a very moist banana bread made without any butter or oil. They are big, fluffy, and melt-in-your-mouth gooey–a perfect illustration of how food can be both healthy and delicious!

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Truvia Baking Blend (or 2/3 cup sugar)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I love Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup egg substitute OR 2 large eggs
1/2 cup chocolate chips, plus a few extra for topping

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray muffin tin with cooking spray or use paper-lined muffin cups.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, beat together the bananas, yogurt, and eggs until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tin about three-fourths full. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Like banana bread, these muffins taste best the next day and should be stored at room temperature.

NUTRITION
Servings: 12
Serving size: 1 muffin
Calories: 170
Fat: 3.9g
Carbs: 35.9g
Sugar: 15.6g
Fiber: 3.1g
Protein: 4g