The Best Secretly Healthy Muffins

Is there anything better than eating healthy without having to give up tasty baked goods? We think not, and with these muffins you can get the best of both worlds; you would never guess the unexpected ingredient that makes them healthier than your average muffin. It may sound gross, but please trust us when we say that you won't even taste the secret ingredient and are going to get some of your vegetable intake for the day while enjoying a yummy muffin. So what is the secret ingredient? Zucchini! Yes, apparently you can bake with vegetables and still end up with deliciously sweet food. We found this recipe on kitchentreaty.com and owe them all the credit for this discretely healthy treat. They are a perfect option when you need a quick breakfast on the go since they're sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar and aren't overly sweet, making them perfect for the morning. Start your day off right with a little serving of vegetables with these perfectly flavoured muffins.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

1/3 cup water

2 cups white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (add another 1/2 teaspoon for a little extra flavour)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup canola oil (can sub melted coconut oil)

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (can sub dark brown sugar)

1 cup grated zucchini

Topping:

3 tablespoons rolled oats

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Start by preheating oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with cupcake paper or grease it with cooking spray.

Whisk the ground flaxseed and the water in a medium bowl and let sit for at least 5 minutes. In a separate large bowl, add the flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and whisk until well blended. Then add in the applesauce, canola oil, almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to the flaxseed mixture and mix well. We blended this in a Vitamix but a whisk will do the trick.

Next, pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Then fold in the grated zucchini until well combined.

Now divide the batter between the muffin cups. We were able to make 18 muffins, but the original recipe yields 12 so divide accordingly.

The topping is completely optional and looks great but is very messy when trying to eat, so we would skip this step next time. If you do want to make it, mix together the oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the muffins.

Bake for 15 minutes and check with a toothpick. If it doesn't come out clean, put it in for up to 3 more minutes.

If you're patient you can let them cool for 5 minutes but if you're anything like us, you'll be devouring them as soon as they're out of the oven.

Enjoy your healthy muffins and let us know how yours turned out!