Veggie Muffins

One day while I was perusing blogs I came across one where the mom had made her 1 year old veggie muffins for his birthday.  She got the recipe from here.  I thought it looked pretty good.  I wasn't too excited about the idea of broccoli, but I figured I could work around that.  So, I decided to give them a shot and let me tell you, it was SO worth it.  Holy freakin' cow these things are delicious.  I did tweak the recipe slightly to work better for my tastes and I'm thinking of ways that I can further tweak it so it will be a little healthier.  But, as is, SO SO SO GOOD.  I loved them, Dave loved them, and my kids loved them.  Yesterday, I made 18 muffins.  Tonight, there are only 3 left.  Needless to say these were a HUGE hit and most definitely a keeper!

I know they don't look all that appetizing but they smell really good and they taste even better.  They taste like a mix between carrot cake and banana bread.  Yum!

Here's my version of the recipe, if you want to see the original click the link above.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 of a stick) softened butter
2 eggs

1/4 cup apple juice (prune juice, or grape juice would work too)
2 big handfuls of fresh spinach

1 to 1 1/2 cups smashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup yogurt (vanilla, plain, strawberry, whatever flavor) I used blueberry
1/2 tsp vanilla

Start by mixing your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) in a small bowl. Set aside.

Mix the sugar, butter, and eggs in a separate bowl or mixer. Beat for a couple minutes till everything is combined.

Next, prepare your veggies. shred the carrots (I bought a bag of shredded carrots just to make it easier), smash up the bananas, and prepare your spinach puree.

You need about 1/2 cup of puree when done:

I started by putting the spinach and juice in my food processor, but it didn't puree it well enough for my taste, so I put it in my blender and I liquefied it!  I didn't want to see any chunks of spinach!

 
Now, put the spinach puree, carrots, bananas, yogurt, and vanilla into the butter mixture and beat for a minute. Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined and wet.

Bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  I used cupcake liners.  They make cleanup so much easier!

The spinach makes them that yummy green color.  I used spinach because it has a very bland taste and it will take on the taste of whatever you mix it with.

Just a little note of caution, these are so good that you may want to eat 2 or 3 or 5, in one day.  Don't.  These muffins are very high in fiber and eating as many as I did (5) in one day will...yum....to put it in the plainest terms...clean you out!  Ya, it's been a rough day.  But, these muffins were worth it.  They are that GOOD!

Enjoy my friends.  But, remember, pace yourself.



I'm joining these linky parties:

I linked up to  Show and Tell.