Carrot Cake Muffins

As you might be able to tell by now I really like muffin recipes.  Muffins are an easy to grab snack, generally easy to pack with great nutrients, and my kids think they are getting a "treat" when eating them (maybe because they resemble cupcakes).  I have been trying to find a new recipe to add to my weekly meal plans and found a carrot cake recipe that looked amazing, but definitely needed some tweaking to turn into a healthier version.  Instead of just adding carrots I thought I would try to add some butternut squash as well.  My twins have never liked eating squash, I have tried every way of cooking it and still a no go, so I figured why not add to a puree?!

To make the orange puree I use in this recipe I cut up one large organic carrot and used half a bag of organic frozen butternut squash.  I steamed them over the stove for about 7 minutes (until you can easily pierce with a fork).  I then added the veggies to my food processor with 1/4 cup water.  You can add more water, if needed, until you get a consistency that looks like smooth baby food.  This made enough to fill two 4oz freezer jars.

steaming veggies for puree

The original recipe for the carrot cake muffins came from shugarysweets.com.  I exchanged the 1 cup of sugar with pure organic honey, used Bobs Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour,  and added some pumpkin pie spice and a small amount of chocolate chips.  I didn't make any frosting for these but if your wanting an extra sweet treat go ahead!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour ( I highly recommend pastry flour if wanting to use whole wheat with this recipe, regular whole wheat flour will make this dry)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup pure honey
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup organic chocolate chips
1, 4oz container of orange puree

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 deg
In a large bowl mix all ingredients above except puree and chocolate chips
Fold in puree and chocolate chips, being careful not to overmix
Scoop batter into muffin tins
Bake for 18-20 minutes