Wholesome Vegan Zucchini Muffins

Life is full of sacrifices.  When I got married, I sacrificed half of my closet space and learned to make room for shaving supplies in the medicine cabinet.  When I had a baby, I sacrificed the luxury of a relaxed shower.

Now that Meghan is almost 3 and still clinging to the finicky, I-only-like-vegetables-when-there’s-a-full-moon attitude she developed about 6 months ago, one sacrifice I’m making is that sometimes, one serving of her daily vegetables is going to come in the form of a muffin.

If she’s going to eat a muffin, it’s going to be a wholesome muffin.  Don’t you just love that word?  By wholesome I mean it can’t be made with white flour (I use whole wheat here), it needs to be low in sugar (this recipe calls for agave nectar) and it has to have some extra goodness (in this case we’ve got zucchini, flax seeds, and coconut oil).

Then I can feel good when she scarfs one down and promptly asks for another.

Wholesome Vegan Zucchini Muffins

A delicious way to get some extra veggies into your diet!

• Author: Healthy Happy Mama
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 22 minutes
• Total Time: 32 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup flax meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 3/4 cup agave nectar
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded zucchini

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven t0 325 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.  {As I was ready to make these I realized I was out of liners.  I lightly oiled the muffin tins and sprinkled them with flour, and this worked well, too.}
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.
3. 
4. Add the oil, agave nectar, milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is just combined.  Do not over mix.
5. 
6. Using a plastic spatula, gently fold in the zucchini just until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
7. Scoop 1/3 of the batter into each prepared cup.  Bake the muffins on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. 
9. Let the muffins stand  in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Muffins can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

Adapted from babycakes by Erin McKenna

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 muffin
• Calories: 294
• Sugar: 17.4g
• Sodium: 49.6g
• Fat: 13.1g
• Carbohydrates: 43.5g
• Protein: 4.75g

Keywords: veggie muffins

These muffins are moist, spicy, and just sweet enough.  Although life is full of sacrifices, having to eat these is not one of them.