Coffee Cake Protein Muffins

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I can't believe I'm belated on my OWN blog birthday but...

My Engineered Nutrition is 1 year old! Happy 1st Birthday to my website!

(As of May 5th...shh)

This first year of blogging flew by. I want to take a moment and say THANK YOU (yes, YOU reading this!) for supporting my little blog. I have been completely overwhelmed by the support I have received from my fun little side hobby. What started as a way for me to track my recipes has developed into a true passion of mine. I have been continuously motivated to keep creating new, fun, simple and most importantly, healthy, recipes to share with you. 

Looking back at this first year, here are some fun facts about My Engineered Nutrition.

• My Engineered Nutrition had over 33,000 page views!!
• The most viewed recipe on my site (6,348 views?!) were my Sweet Potato Stacks
• The second most viewed recipe (1,877 views) was my very first post, BBQ Chicken Pizza with Cauliflower Crust
• I posted 62 recipes within the first year of my blog!

To celebrate My Engineered Nutrition's 1st birthday, I've created a SUPER delicious muffin: Coffee Cake Protein Muffins! I have to say, I think these may be my best ever baked recipe. 

In fact, my boyfriend has told me that these are the best thing I've ever made. Mind you, he has tried all 62 of those recipes (and all failed attempts) I created within the first year, so that is a pretty loaded compliment to say the least. 

I'm using True Nutrition Cinnamon Bun Whey Protein, as well as greek yogurt, to make these protein packed while also low in fat! These are fantastic for an on-the-go breakfast in the morning when you are running short on time, and obviously even better with a large mug of coffee! They are soft and fluffy like a good muffin should be, but are so much healthier than your standard sugar loaded muffin!

Coffee Cake Protein Muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 9 muffins

Ingredients: 

• 2 scoops True Nutrition Cinnamon Bun Whey Protein (60 g)
• 1 cup gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour (regular flour would work as well)
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup Greek yogurt 2%
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 tsp vanilla

Crumb Topping

• 1 tsp coconut palm sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour (regular flour would work as well)
• 1/2 tsp butter

Baking Accessories:

• Muffin tin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare muffin tin by greasing with coconut oil or butter (instead of using liners). Set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine the dry crumb topping ingredients. Cut the butter into very small pieces and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until the butter has formed into small balls and is well coated. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl combine your dry ingredients: whey protein, flour, coconut palm sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl with hand mixer, combine your wet ingredients: greek yogurt, egg, applesauce and vanilla. Mix at medium speed until well combined. Add dry ingredients and mix and medium speed until incorporated. 
5. Spoon batter among 9 muffins. Top each each an equal amount of the crumb topping. Bake for 15 mins or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool 5 minutes in tin before removing. Serve warm or store in air-tight container for later. 

Nutritional Information (1 muffin):

125 calories - 10 g Protein, 17.5 g Carbohydrates, 1.7 g Fat

Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

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In case you haven't heard, I am now a Guest Blogger and Athlete for True Nutrition! This is such an exciting opportunity for me as I've been using True Nutrition products for years. I've already created a handful of recipes using various True Nutrition protein powders and you can now find all of those and future recipes on the newly created Protein Powder page!

So what exactly does being a Guest Blogger entail, you may ask? It means I get to flex my creativity by using the wide range of True Nutrition proteins in new tasty recipes!

Let's get started, shall we?

Bananas are a staple grocery item in my house, as I love eating them after I lift. The problem is, sometimes I overbuy and I end up with overly ripened bananas that I don't want to waste...but also lose their appeal to eat as is.

Enter: Baking

Baking with bananas is amazing because:

1. They act as a natural sweetener (no added sugar required for these muffins!)

2. They can be used as a substitute for butter or oil in baking, thus lightening up the fat

3. They keep your baked goods incredibly moist and tender

Baking with whey protein can be tricky. It isn't a simple 1-for-1 substitution with flour in a recipe. Often times baked goods using whey protein turn out spongy or dry, neither of which is a way I want to describe a muffin! The key is to make you balance the dry ingredients with enough wet, and ensure there is some cooking fat. Luckily, the bananas in the recipe play a roll as both, adding moisture and tenderness to your baked goods. In addition to vanilla whey protein, I'm also using coconut and almond flours for my "dry", which will help give volume to our magnificent muffins.

The result? Flavorful tender muffins that are hardly distinguishable from its non-protein packed alternative. Not only are these high in protein, they are also gluten-free and low in fat! They are amazing with your morning coffee as a great breakfast option, especially if you are looking for a way to shake up your normal routine. Or, if you are more like me and don't eat breakfast normally, these are an amazing guilt free dessert option, especially when warmed and served along side a scoop of ice cream!

Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 8 muffins

Ingredients: 

• 2 scoops True Nutrition Vanilla Whey Protein (60 g)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (28 g)
• 1/4 cup almond flour (28 g)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup mashed ripened bananas, about 2-3 bananas (225 g)
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (45 g) - I like to use Sunspire 42% Cacao Semi-Sweet Baking Chips 

Baking Accessories:

• Muffin tin
• Muffin/Cupcake liners

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare muffin tin with 8 liners. In a mixing bowl combine your dry ingredients: whey protein, coconut flour, almond flour and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl with hand mixer, combine your wet ingredients: banana, eggs and vanilla. Mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix and medium speed until well combined. Add chocolate chips and hand fold into batter with spatula.
3. Spoon batter evenly among 8 muffin liners. Bake for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool 5 minutes in tin before eating...this is the hardest part of the whole recipe! Serve warm or store in air-tight container for later. 

Nutritional Information (1 muffin):

140 calories - 10 g Protein, 15 g Carbohydrates, 4.5 g Fat

Double Chocolate Peppermint Protein Muffins

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While I dream of having a full time job has a food blogger someday, whipping up recipes day in and day out, the current reality is that I'm an engineer (gotta pay the bills to buy all this food somehow). At my office, we have a quarky birthday tradition: when it is your birthday, you bring in treats for the office. A backwards tradition that I've actually grown fond of. 

Things are starting to get more serious with my figure prep as I near being just 9 weeks out. What fun is bringing in birthday treats if the birthday girl herself can't eat them?? This pushed me to get creative with my baking!

First to come to mind was cupcakes. I love baking cupcakes and have created some pretty fantastic cakes in years past. The best part of a cupcake, in my opinion, is the frosting/topping. You know what makes it so good? BUTTER. 

I would have LOVED to make a full fat birthday treat, however, I have my eyes set to my goal. So what if I ditched the frosting? What is a cupcake without frosting? Ah yes - a muffin.

I knew I wanted a healthy dose of chocolate and I'd also been craving some Holiday inspired. What pairs better during the holiday season than chocolate and peppermint? Now, this is a stretch to call this delicious creation a muffin. Most often muffins are thought of as a breakfast food. These can easily pass for dessert. I did put my signature spin on these and added in protein powder, so that counts for "breakfast"...right?

I brought 3 dozen of these into my office and they were eaten up in record speed. If you are looking for a crowd-pleasing dessert to serve up this holiday season that tastes like it is a decadent treat but is actually low fat, gluten free and packed with protein, do yourself a favor and bake up a batch of these Double Chocolate Peppermint Protein Muffins!

Double Chocolate Peppermint Protein Muffins

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Bake Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour  (198 g)
• 2/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (55 g)
• 1/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar (48 g)
• 1/2 cup Chocolate Whey Protein (60 g) - I use True Nutrition's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Whey Isolate
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Coconut Milk Beverage (in the paper cartons) - soy, almond or cashew milk would also work!
• 1/4 cup Nonfat Greek Yogurt
• 2 Eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
• 2 Candy Canes, crushed

Kitchen Tools:

• Muffin tin
• Stand mixer or electric hand mixer

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare muffin tin by spraying with oil or brushing with a small bit of butter. Prepare candy canes by placing them within a plastic Ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin (this part can get fun). 
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, protein, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. 
3. In a stand mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer), combine coconut milk, Greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until light and fluffy, about 1 minute at medium-high speed. Remove bowl from stand mixer (or remove hand mixer) and add in dry ingredients. By hand, mix in the dry ingredients with a hand whisk and spatula. It is important NOT to over mix! The batter will be fairly thick; scoop-able, not pour-able. Once well incorporated, mix in chocolate chips and crushed candy cane. 
4. Scoop batter into muffin tin. Place tin in oven to bake. Immediately after closing oven door, reduce temperature to 375°F. Bake muffins for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes within the pan and then remove to finish cooling on a cooling rack. 

Nutritional Information (1 muffin)

186 Calories - 8g Protein, 31g Carbohydrates, 3.2g Fat