BEFORE YOU GO “EWWW!”
I’ve got a confession. I hate eating salads. Love juicy veggies, but sadly, salads have too many down sides:
- they don’t store well cause dressing makes veggies soggy
- salads aren’t very portable, need to be refrigerated
- ingredients take forever to wash, peel, chop – if bought in bulk
- salads takes forever to eat
- if you’ve added protein, now you gotta eat it cold (or move to another plate to reheat and add back to the salad)
- nuts/seeds always sink to the bottom
- leafy greens are voluminous but not very calorie dense which makes it hard to get satiated
Don’t get me wrong – the burst of flavor a combination of tomato + basil + balsamic vinaigrette, or any other fresh sasad provides is epic, but man, sometimes they’re too much work!
If you aren’t like me and don’t like veggies – even worse: doctor and grandma told you to eat fiber, but you’re resisting strong with those potato fries and biscuits wondering whether you’ve eaten enough fiber to keep things moving in your gut.
Solution?
There are veggies you can HIDE in pancakes, donuts, waffles, desserts, breads and even seitan that are totally inconspicuous and add a ton of fiber to your diet without compromising the flavor. Let me introduce you to:
Chocolate Caramel Protein Muffins!
Each muffin has
- 13 g protein
- 6 g fiber
- a burst of chocolate goodness flavor
- fluffy texture and zero clue there are greens hidden inside!
oh, did I mention it’s also a 1-bowl recipe with minimal cleanup?
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cup vital wheat gluten
- 0.5 cup whole wheat flour
- 4 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon maca powder (optional, for caramel flavor)*
- 1 teaspoon lucuma powder (optional, for caramel flavor)*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup monkfruit sweetener or sugar*
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil or nut butter of choice*
- 8 oz spinach
- 6 oz zucchini
- 1 cup water
- 10 dates, chopped (NOT optional, for caramel flavor)
Method:
- Blend the veggies and water until uniform in the food processor
- Add the rest of the wet ingredients, blend until smooth
- add dry ingredients, blend until uniform batter forms. You want for it to be thick!
- add dates, mix with hands and separate into a pan of 12 muffins
- bake 30 min at 375°F
Notes:
* Nutrition facts calculated using monkfruit sweetener and coconut oil, no maca and lucuma.
You can use just zucchini or just spinach, or any other greens of choice, AS LONG AS YOUR BLENDER IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO BLEND THE GREENS UNIFORMLY! Otherwise, you’ll end up with chunks of veggies throughout the batter. Kale is not the best option because the texture is too rough, but would work if you freeze it the night before because freezing changes vegetable structure.
I’ve made these muffins oil-free before, and without whole wheat flour (using 2 cups of gluten only). They’re still great, just a little denser, more seitan-y. So, if you’re looking to minimize fats and carbs with some compromises in flavor, half the dates and ditch oil + whole wheat flour.
Muffins will puff up in the oven and sink a little while cooling. It’s ok 🙂
Tag @gorbachevae on instagram when you make em!!!