Whole Wheat Fruity Veggie Booya Muffins

These delicious muffins are good for you! Well they're not -GOOD- for you, but they are more nutritious, less fattening and much less processed than your typical muffin. They have a little bit of everything - fruit, vegetables, nuts, sugar, and even chocolate!!

To ensure maximum nutrition and taste and minimize the risk of ingesting harmful chemicals, use organic ingredients (especially the fruits and vegetables). Check the label of your honey to make sure that it is 100% real, natural honey - many of the less expensive commercial brands use fillers and add-ins that greatly alter the taste of the honey and may also be harmful. Use flour that is unbleached and unbromated.

If you do not have brown sugar on hand, raw turbinado sugar or white sugar made from sugar cane are acceptable substitutes, but it will alter the taste a bit.

Booya Cacao is a very special kind of amazing organic 100% cacao chocolate made by a wonderful friend of mine. Eat Booya and you will never want a chocolate chip again!! http://booyacacao.com
If you do not have Booya Cacao, any type of cacao will do, or a quality baker's chocolate.

These make a filling breakfast or a sumptuous dessert!

Whole Wheat Fruity Veggie Booya Muffins

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ½ cup oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup well mashed banana
• 1 cup cinnamon or plain applesauce
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 medium to large zucchini, shredded (about 1-1 ½ cups)
• 1 large or two small carrots, shredded (about 1-1 ½ cups)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup raisins
• 24 ½ inch chunks Booya Cacao
• 1-2 tablespoons raw turbinado sugar
• 24 paper muffin liners (use liners for these - the chocolate may melt and cause the muffins to stick, even if you grease the pan)

Preheat oven to 450°. Line two muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
In a separate large bowl, thoroughly mix the mashed banana, applesauce, brown sugar, honey and vanilla extract.

Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Fold in the zucchini, carrots, walnuts and raisins. Take care not to over mix - over mixing will result in denser, more bread-like muffins. You are looking for a thick, lumpy batter.

Using two spoons, drop the muffin batter into the cups until they are almost full. Push a chunk of Booya Cacao into the center of each muffin, just below the surface but not all the way to the bottom. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top of the muffins (this will form a sugary sweet crust on the tops when they are done).

Bake in the preheated oven for about 18-20 minutes. They are done when the tops are firm but bounce back when you push on the center. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

** When measuring honey, it helps to spray your measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray… then it will come out easier. I find it even easier to spray a tablespoon and just use that – ¼ cup is about four tablespoons.

They are the prettiest before they are baked, when you can see the green zucchini and the orange carrot.