Power Packed Muffins

We headed out on a family mountain biking trip yesterday.  (One of my favorite things to do on Saturday morning.)  This is a picture of the 4 of us just after we finished our ride.  I just never know what to expect when we all get on our bikes and head into the woods.  We had a great ride - I even crossed the river without falling in - several times!

After a couple of hours on our bikes, we all came out of the woods STARVING.  I always bring along healthy snacks to refuel our worn out bodies after we ride.  I usually bring bananas, grapes, peanut butter crackers and Cliff bars.  When I ran across this recipe in the King Arthur flour catalog for zucchini carrot muffins, I knew it would be a perfect post-ride food.  They are loaded with healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour, flaxseed, zucchini, carrots and walnuts.

I adjusted the recipe to meet my needs and to be honest, they don't look anything like they were pictured in the catalog.  My muffins are much lighter in color and a little less rounded.  I really enjoyed the muffins but the kids were not so fond of them.  They are more dense than most muffins and their texture is a little "grainy."  I quite like the kind of muffin where you can see and taste the zucchini and the carrot and taste the crunch of the flaxseed.  (I find that if I am going to put vegetables in muffins for the kids, they prefer vegetables that are unrecognizable.)  Even though the kids didn't care for these muffins, I thought they were a great high energy snack.

Zucchini & Carrot Muffins
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 and line 12 muffin cups with papers.  Whisk together sugar, oil, salt and egg.  Add zucchini, carrots and nuts.  Whisk together remaining ingredients and add to batter.  Stir until just combined.  Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.  Let muffin cups rest for 10 minutes.  Bake 18-20 minutes.

Bon Appetit!