Nonstick cooking spray or 12 paper cupcake liners, for greasing or lining the muffin tin
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup low-fat milk plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar (buttermilk)
2 large egg whites, beaten
2 tablespoons melted unsalted margarine (such as Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread) or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat the wells of a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line the wells with paper cupcake liners.
2 In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt, and mix thoroughly.
3 Make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Add the buttermilk, egg whites, margarine and vanilla, and stir until well combined.
4 Fold in the blueberries.
5 Spoon the batter into the wells of the prepared muffin tin, so that each well is about two-thirds full.
6 Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
130 calories, 2 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 410 milligrams sodium, 28 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 12 grams sugar, 4 grams protein
CARROT CAKE MUFFINS
Yield: 24 servings (1 muffin each)
Before:
Carrot cake is traditionally a calorie-heavy, sugary dessert. An average-size slice of traditional carrot cake could have as many as or even more than 350 calories, 15 or more grams of fat and lots of added sugar.
Skinny-Size It:
Changing this traditional dessert to a muffin format and tweaking the ingredients transforms it into a great breakfast that will fuel your morning, with only 120 calories per muffin and 5 grams of fat (one-third the total fat of a typical version of the original dessert). This recipe contains nearly double the amount of shredded carrots found in typical carrot cake recipes and derives more natural sweetness from pineapple. In my first version of this recipe, I included a Skinny version of traditional heavy cream cheese frosting. However, my taste testers said the muffins were even better without it! The frosting recipe became a dip instead (see Whipped Pineapple Dip)!
Skinny Kitchen:
A quick and easy way to grate carrots is with a shredding blade in a food processor.
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray or 24 paper cupcake liners, for greasing or lining the muffin tin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots (6 to 8 medium carrots)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the wells of a 24-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line the wells with paper cupcake liners.
2 In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
3 In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon, and stir until well combined. Add the dry mixture to the large bowl containing the sugar, oil and egg mixture, and stir until well combined.
4 Fold in the carrots and the pineapple.
5 Spoon the batter into the wells of the prepared muffin tin, so that each well is half full.
6 Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
120 calories, 5 grams fat, 0.5 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 20 milligrams cholesterol, 160 milligrams sodium, 18 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 10 grams sugar, 2 grams protein
APPLE MUFFINS
Yield: 12 servings (1 muffin each)
Before:
Say good-bye to oily muffins!
Skinny-Size It:
These muffins are moist without any added oil. The moisture in the muffins comes from shredded apples and applesauce. Switching from 2 whole eggs to 4 egg whites skims about 368 milligrams of cholesterol and 10 grams of fat from the recipe (since a large whole egg contains about 5 grams of fat), and using whole-wheat flour adds fiber along with vitamins and minerals.
Skinny Tip:
If you do not like the taste of whole-wheat flour, try white whole-wheat flour, which is milled from white wheat, a variety of wheat that is lighter in color and flavor than traditional red wheat yet delivers all the nutrition of whole wheat.
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray or 12 paper cupcake liners, for greasing or lining the muffin tin
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 large egg whites, beaten
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Applesauce (see recipe)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 medium McIntosh, Golden Delicious (or other varieties good for baking) apples, peeled, cored and shredded
Directions
