Let’s Grab Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they say. This works for me because I am a lover of all things breakfast. I have no issue with eating foods that would normally be served between the hours of six and eleven at any other time of day. If I am at a diner that serves breakfast all day you bet your biscuits there will be hash browns and eggs in my future.

I would love to actually have what I consider to be a legit breakfast every morning but that’s just not feasible. The truth is I have become a grab and go breakfast eater. That means whatever I am eating can’t involve turning on the stove or oven. That also means that more often than not, my breakfast comes in handheld forms like a muffin, bread, roll, or bagel—most of which are not the best choices from a health standpoint. They say an apple a day…not a croissant a day!

Lately, I have been trying to make muffins that are more than just a sweet start to the morning. I made this recipe last Saturday to have on hand as a quick meal since we had an early start on Sunday morning. And, I am happy that I did. I sat in my folding chair, sipped coffee, and enjoyed my muffin while totally content watching soccer.

These are muffins that you can play with. The original version called for raisins which I switched out for dried cranberries as those are more acceptable to some in my household. Next time I make them I might swap out some of the flour for a little protein powder just to kick it up a notch.

Morning Dash Muffins
Adapted from NY Times
Yields 12 muffins

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1-1/2 teaspoons ground apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup shredded apple
1/2 cup grams shredded coconut
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup melted coconut oil

Directions
Heat oven to 350 ºF and place paper liners in a standard 12-cup muffin tin.

Using a whisk and a medium bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, dark brown sugar, and eggs until smooth. Stir the carrot, apple, coconut, 1/2 cup of the pecans and 1/2 cup of the cranberries into the wet mixture. Stir in the melted coconut oil.

With a large rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and cranberries evenly over the tops of the muffins.

Bake in the preheated oven until the muffins are puffed up and set—a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean (about 20 minutes). Transfer the muffins, in the muffin tin, to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Next, remove the muffins from the tin and allow to cool completely on the rack.

Once they are cool, store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.