Lean Green Muffins

Don't let the color fool you; these muffins are quite scrumptious!

I love baking and I love spinach so when I stumbled upon this recipe I knew it was a match made in heaven. Although the recipe as it stands already is pretty healthy I made a few substitutions. I left the original recipe below, but if you want to try it my way: 

• Substitute the all purpose flour for almond flour 
• Use one heaping handful of spinach and a bundle of kale (stems removed) in place of the 6 oz bag of spinach.
• Instead of sugar, use 1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp of Truvia
• Replace the canola oil with unsweetened applesauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup canola oil
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 6 oz. bag of fresh baby spinach
• 2 overly ripe bananas
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl: flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a blender, place oil, milk, and spinach. Blend on high for about 30 seconds or until completely puréed. Add banana (I squeezed the bananas with my hands before I added them to the blender) and vanilla; blend on low just to mix. 
4. Pour puréed mixture into dry mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until completely combined.
5. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full  and bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

*NOTE: I highly suggest letting the muffins cool out of the muffin pan for about an hour before eating. I had a tough time peeling my muffin from the wrapper when it was still warm.