Fell in LOVE with this receipe will reading it! I wish I could give credits to where this receipe is from - a client gave it to me! I have played with the ingredients a touch for my families taste. It reminds me of carrot cake!!!!! Soooo moist and delicious I couldn't resist giving it a go. I am on the 5 batch of these babies. I make a double batch each time and freeze them for a quick protein packed treat.
I use red and green lentils. Take 1 cup of each type (I like to buy them bulk) and add 4 cups water and boil away. They can get really soft as you are going to put them into a food processor to puree them. If the water boils off - then add 1/4 cup water to make the puree. If there is water still remaining - don't add any more. You don't want them to liquidity. Sadly it will look like brown poop but it is amazing :) lol. You want it to have the consistency of a pumpkin puree. I freeze the extra that it makes for the next batch of muffins.
Ingredients: Makes 12
-1/2 cup brown sugar - I cut this in half and they were great
-3/4 cup sugar - I cut this in half
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/3 canola oil - I used coconut oil one time and then I used apple sauce the second time - both worked GREAT
-2 eggs or egg replacer or ground flax seed with water as egg replacer
-1 cup lentil puree - Although lentils include all these beneficial nutrients like fiber, protein, minerals and vitamins, they are still low in calories and contain virtually no fat. One cup of cooked lentils only contains about 230 calories, but still leaves you feeling full and satisfied. So one little muffin with a base of lentils can satisfy you more then the regular muffin. Legumes are typically low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium. Additionally they are a good source of protein, vitamin B1, pantothenic acid, zinc, and vitamin B6. One cup of lentils provides about 18 grams of dietary protein. So no - these wont be a protein packed muffin BUT... they do provide some great dietary options over the regular muffin!
-1 cup shredded carrots
-1 cup flour - I have not tried gluten free as of yet but I will this next time round and let you know!
-3/4 cup whole wheat flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp nutmeg - we don't love nutmeg so I didn't add it. BUT... it is actually amazing for you so - please add it if you like the taste of it. Has some great benefits to it.
-1 tsp cinnamon or a touch more!!!! LOVE cinnamon and between - use the real stuff. There are two different kinds – cassia cinnamon and Ceylon cinnamon. In most circles, the cassia variety is referred to as “fake” cinnamon, and Ceylon is referred to as “true” cinnamon. 90% of what we buy at the grocery store is FAKE... sorry! Cinnamon is also a very strong antioxidant, anti- inflammatory and helps regulate blood sugar. Cinnamon also helps stop the growth of bacteria as well as fungus. The fake stuff doesn't actually have these qualities. SORRY - tastes great but it is simply not the same in the actual benefits. The cassia (aka “fake”) cinnamon contains a very high amount of coumarin. (google that word - quite interesting actually!) AND THANK YOU Ayla (my wealth of knowledge daughter) for that little trivia piece.
Cassia or fake cinnamon has a hole in it while the real stuff is filled. Real or Ceylon is lighter, sweeter, and less dense then the fake.
Directions:
Pre heat to 350
Cook time: 30 minutes
Mix sugars, vanilla, oil, and egg till blended - add puree and carrots
Mix all others
Add two together till blended
20-25 muffins