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A couple of weeks ago I woke up on what was an unseasonably snowy morning. I don’t know about you, but weather like that makes me yearn for something warm and comforting slathered in creamy butter! I surveyed the contents of the fridge and cupboards and thought back to my tasty recipe for courgette, date and pecan bread. However, a loaf takes far to long to bake and I wanted my breakfast a.s.a.p! I decided to make an amended version of that loaf bread using up the carton of egg whites I had on hand and the truvia which needed using up. I realised then that these muffins would end up being pretty light – fantastic for anyone watching their weight, but equally as good for topping with excessive amounts of butter!

‘Skinny’ Courgette, Cranberry and Pistachio Muffins (Makes 9 – 10)

• 1 medium courgette, grated
• 1/4 cup of truvia (or slightly less of regular sugar)
• 1 small pot / 1/3 cup of apple and pear puree / unsweetened apple sauce (I used organic baby food)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups of wholegrain spelt flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 50 g / about 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 50g / about 3 tbsp of shelled pistachios, chopped

Pre heat the oven to 180 and grease a muffin pan. In a large bowl mix together your grated courgette, truvia or sugar, apple sauce / puree and egg whites. Add in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Gently fold in dried cranberries and pistachios (reserving about half the pistachios for the top of the muffins). Fill each muffin pan near 3/4 full and top with the remaining pistachios. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the muffins are browned and a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from pan. Enjoy warm or can be left to cool, wrapped in foil and frozen.

*Cooks note – do not use paper muffin liners with these, due to the texture of the batter they will be better baked either directly in a well greased muffin pan or in silicone muffin liners. I baked them in paper liners and some of the muffin sticks so go for the other options if you can :-)

These muffins are delicately sweet with a lovely cakey texture and crunch from the pistachios.

I call these muffins ‘skinny’ because they come out at under 120 cals each (when making 10) which I think is pretty good considering how delicious these taste!

If you aren’t looking to cut calories, or even if you are, eat two of them! I also highly recommend topping them with a mixture of real butter mixed with maple syrup.

Utterly delicious warm straight from the oven…

These freeze extremely well too and defrost in the fridge over night ready to be warmed back up for breakfast.

Just as good with some nut butter too!

I love baked goods with veggies – not that I’m overly concerned with the healthiness aspect, but I enjoy the texture and taste the add. I do love a good carrot cake, but courgette is now my favourite ‘baking’ veggie – I love the little green flecks! I’ve also used grated parsnips with wonderful results as well!

Do you like baked goods with veggies in them?