Morning Glory Muffins

Since we have been trying (and trying it is) to be smarter about our food choices, I have found it hard to get myself to bake. When you are not watching sugars, or butter (pretty much the basis of every baked treat) baking is easy, and also really indulgent. It is a lot harder to try and bake "healthy". I have never been one to make a delicious dessert, and then not eat it. I have tried my best, but somehow I always find myself taking little bites here and there. That being said, baking healthy is something I am new at, and doing my best to learn. I have been avoiding gluten as much as possible, but I do not mind eating the occasional "wheat" product (in fact it is a nice treat).

 My sister works at a daycare, and came home with a dozen ripe bananas yesterday that were left over form a project. Being the resourceful person that I am, I looked at these bananas and knew a healthy baked good would come out of it. Emory does his fare share of banana consumption, but we all know that a dozen bananas was never good for anyone, especially a one year old.

This morning I made juice with my mom's Jack LaLanne juicer, and had a bunch of leftover pulp from the fruit and veggies, and decided it was too good to let waste, so me and Brittany (my little sister) decided that we would re-invent morning glory muffins with the leftover pulp. I realize not everyone has a juicer, and so I have adapted the recipe from Roostblog to make it easier to bake. If you do juice, you can substitute 2 cups of your pulp for the fruits and veggies in this recipe. If you do use your own juiced veggies, keep in mind that the liquid has been taken out, so add 1/4 cup of all natural apple juice to the recipe (this is why I have adapted the recipe, because it is much easier that way). Anyways, when you live in a house of women (me, mom, and britt) who love to bake, but also eat healthy, these types of recipes are bound to be born. I have tweaked this recipe a bit, but if you want to try the original recipe (which wonderful I'm sure) go here.
Speaking of Roostblog, check out my new blog banner! I won that blog banner contest a few weeks back, and am so happy with the results! Coco has done such an amazing job creating a banner that really expresses what I want this blog to be about. I am so thankful for her for giving such a great gift give away. Check out her site if you like my banner, because she does blog banner designs (for a small cost) and more!

Morning Glory Muffins

Keep in mind these are healthy muffins, no sugar or butter. If you want a sweeter muffin, you can increase the honey from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. Since I made mine with juiced veggies, if you make yours as the recipe says, let me know how they turn out!

Makes 12

2 cups flour ( I used 1 cup wheat, 1 cup all-purpose)
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup honey (increase to 1/2 cup if you want it a bit sweeter)
2 medium carrots grated
1 apple, grated (I used a sweeter green apple in mine)
3/4 cup chopped pineapple
3 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 bananas, mashed
1/4 cup all natural peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients until well blended. Add in the flour mixture, and mix until incorporated, but do not overmix.

Grease (with olive oil spray) a 12 count muffin pan. Fill each muffin cup to the top, and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and then use a knife to take out of pan.