Hulk Muffins

My breakfast has been the same for the past five years (minus travel, sickness, and pregnancies): two thick pieces of toast made from homemade half white/wheat bread washed down with a mug of orange juice. It feels good in my tummy, is calm enough to eat right before a run, and filling enough to last at least until mid-morning snack time. I love that breakfast. I will always come back to it. But last week I felt like a change. Muffins to the rescue!

I'm on a muffin kick. In the past I've had no use for muffins. I thought they were as unhealthy as cupcakes without the glory/frosting, and the vast majority of muffin recipes are. But healthy yummy muffins do exist! The beauties I have been making and chowing this week are a more nutritious breakfast than my usual toast and OJ. Today I invented/adapted two recipes from the runner's kitchen bible (Run Fast Eat Slow) and came up with All Filler No Killer Muffins (whole wheat apple oat) and Hulk Muffins (almond oat spinach chocolate chip). My freezer is stocked and breakfast is ready for the next couple weeks.

 Our kitchen is not know for its abundant counter space, but we manage.

Artistic cell phone food photography.

All Filler No Killer Muffins (big batch)
adapted from Run Fast Eat Slow Spelt Banana Bread by Shaina White

Ingredients:
1.5 cups oat flour (I ground rolled oats to powder in my blender)
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temp (2 cold sticks for 22 seconds in the microwave)
1/2 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
4 eggs
2 cups plain applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Beat butter and sugar till combined, then beat in eggs, applesauce, and vanilla--beat for 1 minute. Stir in dry ingredients, then scoop into 24 muffins. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Hulk Muffins (big batch)
adapted from Run Fast Eat Slow Superhero Muffins by Shaina White

Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal (I ground whole almonds up in my blender to make it)
2 cups oat flour (again, used the blender to grind up rolled oats)
4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips or dried fruit
6 eggs
4 packed cups fresh spinach leaves
12 T melted butter (1.5 sticks--I used 1 stick butter and 1/4 cup coconut oil)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup real maple syrup (honey would probably also work)

Directions: In a blender, puree spinach and wet ingredients (eggs, melted butter, vanilla, maple syrup). Pour it into a bowl and stir in dry ingredients (almond meal, oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt). Stir in chocolate chips. Divide into 24 very full muffin cups and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Jeff ate a Hulk Muffin when he got home today and made no comment on it, but Rose had one and said it was delicious. I like them best with butter on top, but that's true for most foods. Jay and Amber have not tried them yet.

Note
How I altered the original Run Fast Eat Slow recipes:

In the Spelt Banana Bread recipe (p.183), sub 1.5 cups plain applesauce for the bananas and use half wheat flour, half oat flour instead of the spelt (or just use spelt--I don't have any so I subbed). These muffins are the yummiest. The Hulk Muffins are a bit more health-foodsy-tasting, but still filling and nutty and good.

In the Superhero Muffin recipe (p.42), sub 2 cups fresh spinach for the carrots and zucchini, and puree the spinach with the wet ingredients in a blender. I made double batches of both and YUM. The spinach Hulk muffins ended up tasting best once they had cooled. For some reason when they were hot, I kept thinking of mowed grass when I ate them, but it might have just been in my head. Once they cooled down, if they weren't green I would never be able to guess that they were full of spinach!