Vegan Vanilla Pumpkin Protein Muffins (GF, V, Eat Clean)

Why must all tasty treats be unhealthy??

I don’t think that needs to be the case, so after receiving some new protein powder I started pondering how to make something festive and tasty to keep me on the clean eating bandwagon this week.

The result was something high in fiber, high in protein and with no added sugars…yup, patting myself on the back right now! I think cooking started being more fun once I realized it could be easy!

This took just 5 minutes to prep and then a lot of patience to let it cook and cool before I started eating!! Multiple servings of fruits and veggies in each muffin is a success to me!

Vanilla Pumpkin Cranberry Protein Muffin

Many of you have asked about how to get your family to eat more veggies and this is one sneaky way! These muffins don’t taste like veggies, but they contain carrots and you could easily swap in squash or sweet potatoes or zucchini…I plan to make a version for St. Pats with spinach!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 scoop Vega Vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1/2 cooked plantain
• 1 tbsp ground chia
• 5 tbsp warm water
• 2 tbsp flax meal
• 1 tbsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp coconut butter
• 1 cup shredded carrots {can eliminate, but why?!}
• Sweetener of choice – 4 drops of liquid stevia
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine water, chia and flax in a small bowl to create gel
3. Combine remaining ingredients {except cranberries} in large bowl or VitaMix
4. Add in chia/flax mixture and blend
5. Add in cranberries and hand stir
6. Pour in to muffin tins
7. Bake 35-40 minutes depending on oven
8. Eat. {But not all of them at once like I tried to do}

I’m not really a muffin fan, so I would prefer to call these cupcakes since they are a sweet treat…but I think a cupcake has to have frosting.

What’s your take on the muffin v cupcake? 

Do you like using protein powder in foods?

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