Muesli Muffins

Do you ever have those mornings where all you feel like for breakfast is a delicious muffin and a good cup of coffee to get you started?  I often forgo the muffin because most are made from refined white flour, a decent amount of sugar and a generous amount of butter which is not the kind of fuel I want to put into my body first thing in the morning.  I thought to myself  ” I need to design a healthy muffin recipe that’s just as good as a bowl of bircher muesli ” which is exactly what I did and basically made my simple version of a bircher and turned it into a healthy muffin.  I used oats as the base for this muffin because they are one of the best complex carbs and full of soluble fibre that fills you up.  The soluble fiber can help lower blood cholesterol and because they are low GI can provide lasting energy.  Ground linseed (flaxseed) adds a good dose of omega 3 and the addition of cinnamon and apple makes them taste just like an apple crumble, YUM.

Makes 10
Time it takes: 40 minutes
Preheat oven to 160 C.
200 g (2 cups ) rolled oats
125 g (1 cup ) wholemeal spelt flour
25 g (1/4 cup)  ground flaxseed (linseed)
80 g (½ cup)  raisins
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup natural yoghurt
4 eggs
60 ml olive oil or macadamia nut oil
2 tbsp honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 apples

Combine oats into a bowl with linseed, raisins, yoghurt, oil, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon, honey and eggs.
Soak for 10 minutes to allow oats to soften.
Add 1 grated apple with the skin and juice that comes from grating.
Add the spelt flour and mix through lightly to form your muffin batter.
Spoon into muffin tins that are lined with muffin cups.
Sprinkle with oats and place into the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes 160 C then slice the other apple into 10 thin slices and place a slice of apple on top of each muffin.
Bake for another 20 minutes or until muffin is cooked through.
Remove from the oven.
Lightly brush the apple tops with a little honey.

Serve and enjoy.
For an added amino acid boost serve with a side of ricotta or almond butter.

Protein: 8 g
Carbs: 30 g
Total fat: 10 g
Saturated: 1.9 g
Kilojoules: 1030
Calories: 245

NOTES: For gluten free friendly Muesli Muffin, substitute the oats with rolled quinoa and the wholemeal spelt with almond meal.
For a dairy free option to yoghurt use soy yoghurt or silken tofu – just whip it a bit before mixing into the oats.