By Bailey Gaddis
I feel a bit guilty during the holidays, when I abandon the lower portion of the food pyramid in favor of the delicious top portion - I’m talking to you butter and sugar. To semi-assuage my guilt I’ve pulled together a group of healthy ingredients that meld themselves into a delicious holiday treat when put under some heat.
(And, they keep you regular, which is a benefit that cannot be under-emphasized during the holidays.)
Some more interesting posts:
Secretly Healthy Gingerbread Muffins
Makes: 12
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 18-20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 2 ripe bananas
- Optional: 4 teaspoons chia seeds (if you want to amp up the fiber, throw in some extra seeds)
- Optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (extra fiber y’all)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray, or line with foil or silicone liners. (I like to spray a bit of cooking spray in the liners just to be safe.)
- Pulse oats in a food processor for 5-10 seconds. Add remaining ingredients (with the exception of the nuts) and blend until the mixture is smooth.
- You can now stir in the nuts, or any other yummy extras you would like. (When I’m feeling naughty, I mix in some chocolate chips — don’t tell Santa.)
- Divide the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 18-20 minutes. (Or until that handy tester-toothpick comes out clean.)
- Now eat without guilt.
