Healthy Apple Lentil Muffins

During the first trial of this recipe, I had the muffins cooling upside down on a dish towel on the kitchen counter. I was typing away on my computer in the living room as my husband did some evening yard work and Nolan happily toddled around the house. I wasn’t paying much attention since he seemed pretty content, but I didn’t hear any commotion from the kitchen. Moments later, Nolan trotted into the living room, grinning from ear to ear, holding one muffin in each hand. Somehow, he had silently tugged the corner of the dish towel just enough to get two of the muffins to tumble to the ground, where he happily scooped them up and took a bite from each. Like some kind of muffin ninja. I bursted out laughing and was thrilled that my healthy muffins were toddler-approved.

Yes, I went there. I put “healthy” in the title, even. It makes me a little nervous. A lot nervous. Because for every person who is like, “Yeah, seems legit,” there will be another 3 people who are like “This cannot be healthy because all sugar except honey is the devil!” and “Olive oil is sooo fattening,” and “OMG you eat wheat?” But I’m like, lighten up, dude. It’s healthier than most muffins you find in the bakery or grocery store, which are really just frosting-less cupcakes if they’re really being honest with themselves. These muffins have a couple secret ingredients that I think boost the health factor.

First, you’ve got my old health standby: yogurt. I opted for Stonyfield’s low fat plain yogurt here. I normally use their full fat yogurt in baking, but by making that simple switch, I already reduced the fat by almost 80%. Plus the yogurt is a good source of protein, and I’m all about protein in the morning, especially now that I am attempting to learn to run. Waking up at 6 AM to go to the gym is a thing I do now, apparently.

Speaking of protein, lentils have a lot of it. I’ve mentioned before that I had sworn off lentils for a while due to a traumatic high school diet, but they have worked their way back to my dinner plate thanks to my legume-loving husband. Now I can say they’ve worked their way back into my heart, also, because if lentils can go into muffins, they must be doing something right. I used Bob’s Red Mill red lentils because they’ve got even more protein, phosphorous, and zinc than their green counterparts. In addition to providing those important nutrients, the lentils replace a portion of the fat in the muffins. Kind of like how box-mix cakes tell you to use applesauce to reduce the fat, you can do the same thing with lentil puree. I didn’t take out all the fat, though, because I didn’t want the muffins to be too tough.

Part of the flour is whole wheat. Not all. I used about half whole wheat flour, because 100% whole wheat makes the muffins too dense for my liking, but you can experiment with the ratio of whole wheat to all-purpose flour to suit it to your health needs/desires and tastes. I like the nuttiness of whole wheat flour, too.

And apples, duh. Apples are fruit. Fruit is healthy. Don’t argue with me on this. I will not listen to you.

At the end of the day, these muffins are under 200 calories each, and they’re lower in fat and higher in protein than other apple cinnamon muffins. That makes them healthy in my book. I think they’re delicious, and I don’t feel bad giving one to Nolan for breakfast or a snack, and he friggin’ loves them. We’re working to build his tolerance for eggs and get rid of his egg allergy, and these fit the bill perfectly. I popped them in the freezer so I can defrost them whenever I need a morning muffin after my semi-masochistic running efforts. I’m no expert, but I think muffins are an essential part of muscle recovery.

These muffins are perfect for toddlers and kids and are packed with secret nutrition from lentils, yogurt, apples, and whole wheat flour. They are easy to make-ahead and freeze, too.