Fruit & Veggie Muffins

Hi guys!

I’m still regaining my bearings after the car accident, so I haven’t gotten much done in terms of crafts or great cooking. I went to the fabric store and got some things for an upcoming project, though!

In the meantime, I thought I’d share a recipe that’s become a favorite in our house, particularly with Little Man. It’s not my own recipe, I found it on Food Network. You can find the recipe here.

The recipe is for muffins packed with fruits and vegetables. The recipe calls them “cupcakes,” but let’s be honest– unless your child has never seen a cupcake in their life, they won’t fall for these being cupcakes. They’re muffins.

I’ve made them twice now, and Little Man can’t get enough. Which is great because sometimes he can be really picky about what he’ll eat, and it’s usually not the healthy stuff he goes for first.

This time I used, carrots, spinach, and pineapple. The recipe is really flexible on the kinds of fruits and vegetables that you use– I’m not sure why you couldn’t use any fruits & vegetables that you like. The flavors pretty much meld together into a spiced cake, with no flavors overwhelming the others.  I use my food processor to shred up the fruits & veggies, so it’s a lot less work than if I did it by hand. Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of ingredients– these are pretty fast to make. If you don’t happen to have things like soy flour, wheat germ & flax seeds, you can substitute a little more whole wheat flour. But I would recommend buying those things as they’re good for you and you can throw them in a lot of different recipes for a health-boost.

I read all the reviews and have now made this twice, so here are some tips I have for you:

-Don’t use muffin liners as some people complain that they stick to the muffin

-Some people complained that they ended up dry. The recipe affords for some dried fruit to be used. I’ve used only fresh fruit, and have never had them turn out dry. So I would suggest not using a full 3/4 cup of dried fruit–  mix it with fresh to keep the muffins moist.

-I almost always have to bake mine a little longer than the recipe says. But others have said they had to bake them for less time. So check the muffins frequently so you cook them completely without over cooking them.

-If your kids (or other target audience) are really picky eaters, I would suggest pureeing your fruits & vegetables so they’re less obvious. After shredding my fruits & veggies, I pulsed them a bit in the food processor so the texture would be more uniform. This is totally a matter of preference.

-You can’t taste the spinach as a distinct flavor, but it gives the muffins a bit of a green hue. So if you think your kids will balk at that, pick a different vegetable.

-They spoil at room temperature quickly, so store them in the fridge or freeze some of them. I freeze them in small bags of 4-6 muffins so I can take out a few at a time.

Little Man eats these like candy! So if you’re looking for a way to get your kids to eat better, try these out!

Here’s a link to the recipe again.