Carrot Orange Morning Muffins

I try not to use flour or sugar too much in our lives but we make the exception for birthdays and for a breakfast treat once in a while. Today the little one requested muffins but I have been trying to add veggies to our morning routine so after reviewing several recipes I put together a breakfast muffin that was super moist, full of veggies, and very tasty.

You can see how moist these are above and how colorful with the green pumpkin seeds, orange carrot bits and brown juicy raisins. Since they are low in sugar, they'll be a good snack for the kid's lunch box too.

When I was preparing them I tried to keep the carrots a secret (they all say they hate carrots!) but they kept asking about what kind (I told them cinnamon was in them, that wasn't a good enough answer) so I fessed up. Of course they balked when they heard carrots. I got the puke face and delightful noises that go with that, lots of whining and well, I don't need to tell you. They smelled really good so we all agreed, ok maybe I forced them with all the patience in the world - we'll sit here all day, to taste it and surprisingly (to them and to my delight), they all loved them!

preheat oven to 350 F

Mix:
2 large organic Eggs
2/3 cup melted organic Coconut Oil
2 teaspoons Vanilla (I use organic Nielsen Massey)
3/4 cup Sucanat (that's a natural sugar with more flavor - Sugar Cane Natural = SuCaNat)
2 teaspoons Zest from one organic orange or tangerine

Add:
3 cups grated organic Carrots (about 3/4 lb of carrots)
1 cup organic Raisins
1/2 cup organic Pumpkin Seeds
1/2 cup organic Coconut (not the sweetened coconut, just grated natural coconut)
1 shredded organic Apple

After that's all blended together add the dry to the mix:
2 cups whole wheat or wheat pastry organic flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon (a good quality cinnamon makes all the diff)
1/2 teaspoon salt

It will be a thick batter. Scoop with an ice cream scooper so the muffin tins are 3/4 full. Bake 25 (one batch took 23, another 25 - I made 24 muffins) minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

I was tempted to use applesauce in the recipe but didn't have any handy. Next time I may cut the oil but 1/3 and add 1/3 cup applesauce to it instead but these came out so moist and perfect, I may not change it at all.

We sprinkled a little powdered sugar over them and enjoyed them with breakfast.