Healthy Chocolate (Zucchini) Protein Muffins

I am on a muffin kick right now, but was getting bored of making my strawberry banana ones every week (even though I would have no problem eating them every day). To change things up I wanted to go to the opposite spectrum and make a chocolate muffin, but that also used my new Manitoba Harvest Plant Protein blend. I stuck with non-dairy milk to keep them dairy-free and maple syrup as the sweetener to keep them refined sugar-free. My flour of choice right now has been Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour mix because I love the texture it gives, plus then my friends with gluten allergies can still eat my baking! The best part is that if you buy a bag of this you can use the leftovers to make my strawberry banana muffins and strawberry cookies (recipe coming soon)!

These muffins can be made three ways, with zucchini, with carrot or without any veggie. I do recommend adding the veggie though because you can't taste it and it makes them more moist! Without the zucchini or carrot they are fluffier, and with they are flatter but more gooey, almost like a brownie. I love them both ways. They are so chocolately, not overly sweet and totally satisfy my craving for dessert! They are gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free. They're perfect for breakfast, a quick snack, post-workout snack or dessert after dinner. I added walnuts for some crunch, but you could also add chocolate chips, or any other nut that you have on hand.

These muffins are high in protein and healthy fats so they keep you full long, but it's still hard to eat just one. Ev LOVES them too obviously, and my parents and nieces approved as well. If you want a healthy snack on hand for the week (these would even be good for kids lunches), whip up a batch of these muffins. If they last longer than a few days, I would recommend refrigerating them to keep them fresh. Check out the recipe below.

Healthy Chocolate Protein Muffins

Makes: 12-15 muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour mix
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate protein powder (I used Manitoba Harvest Plant Protein blend , you could use any protein powder here)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of sea salt
1 cup full fat canned coconut milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla cashew milk (any milk will work here)
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla extract (can sub 1 tsp of peppermint extract for a chocolate mint flavor!)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (any nut will work here, or even chocolate chips!)
1 cup of shredded zucchini, excess water squeezed out (I have also used shredded carrot instead and they turned out great!) (you can make these muffins without the zucchini or carrot and they will still turn out great, just bake for a few minutes less)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, chocolate protein powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, maple syrup, cashew milk, eggs, vanilla and zucchini if using.
Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and only stir until the dry ingredients disappear and are incorporated into the batter. It is important to mix this by hand (and not a electric mixer) to prevent from overmixing. If your batter looks dry, add more milk (one tablespoon at a time) until it reaches the consistency of muffin batter.
Gently fold in walnuts until evenly dispersed.
Fill the muffin tin to the top with batter.
Bake at 375 degrees for 16-20 minutes or until fork comes out clean. If you add zucchini it'll be closer to the 20 minute mark.