Does anyone have a muffin (blueberry, etc.) recipe that is pretty close to meeting the requirements of the Zone (and tastes good)? I found this one by searching on Google, but I think it needs a little more protein. I tried to modify it, but it didn't turn out so well....

Blueberry Muffins
1 1/2 c. oat flour
4- 1 oz scoops vanilla whey protein powder
2 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbl baking powder
2 eggs
4 egg whites
5 1/3 tsp canola oil
8 tsp fructose powder
2/3 c. unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven 350 deg. Sift dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Combine wet ingredients in food processor or blender. Combine the two, careful not to over mix. Fold in blueberries and bake for 20-24 min.

Browse the Zone Classic receipes: http://www.zonediet.com/zone-classic-recipes
I remember there are several muffin receipes there. I tried one and it wasn't that great. Muffins stuck to my baking tray and in the end I had to throw thee tray away after scraping muffins off it. They turned out more like flat sponge cakes but tasted quite OK

Here is mine, and I will post it as a separate entry, as well. It comes out much more moist than the recipe that Bozena has, and they don't stick to the pain. Bozena, I have tried the same recipe that you have, and have had very similar results! That is why I tinkered and developed this one!

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS


8 egg whites
1 1/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal, dry
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp + 1 tsp (or 4 tsp) cooking oil
chopped walnuts
2 tsp baking powder
blueberries
28 grams plain or vanilla protein powder

I was tinkering with this recipe, and it may not be quite right yet for "perfect" zone balance, but I baked these up for my kids and they devoured them! Only comment was that they were not very sweet (which is just fine with me!).. Just wanted to post so that it was recorded; I can always come back and make adjustments as needed.

Grind oats until floured. Add baking powder and protein powder, set aside.

Blend wet ingredients in a blender-eggs, cottage cheese, vanilla, oil. Then combine flour mixture and the batter, mix just until blended. Pour into muffin tin, and then spoon in fresh or frozen blueberries into each cup. Top off with chopped walnuts.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-25 min until they begin to turn golden brown. Knife or toothpick inserted should come out clean.

A nice option would be to add some cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

For those who really can't eat them without some sweetness, you could add some splenda before baking.

I gave up on trying to make Zone muffins. They usually come out too hard. I wanted my husband to have something for his morning tea at work but he didnt like them. I use Silicon muffin trays and they dont stick at all. I have started using Glucose powder. Not lots but just to sweeten a little. On the Sweet Poison segment on TV they said that Fructose was really bad for you. They said Glucose was a good choice. I got a big order of the new Nougat Bars - they are really nice but noticed that one of the ingredients is Fructose .....

Thanks everyone! cranberrycat, cottage cheese - I would have never thought of that! The protein powder in my trial recipes always seemed to make the muffins like hockey pucks (the more I added, the harder they got).

With the 'light bulb' of cottage cheese, I tried another recipe this morning with NO protein powder - and they didn't turn out too bad! Tasted kind of like a blueberry pancake. I think for my kids I might add a little more sweetening (maybe a crumble topping of brown sugar), but for me, it was a winner! Here's what I made:

3/4 c. oat flour
3/4 c. soy flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. fructose powder (but you could probably substitute regular sugar)
1/2 c. low fat cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/3 c. 1% milk
40 drops of liquid stevia
1 c. frozen blueberries, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a food processor or blender. Combine the two, careful not to over mix. Fold in blueberries. Fill 10 muffin cups.

2. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes in the pre-heated oven., or until done.

3. Makes 10 muffins. 1 muffin = 1 Zone blocks.

Yummy! Make sure you post it on the recipe thread!

Jennifer,

I've been making the following recipe for years. It's a favorite at my house. It's based on a recipe in a Zone book that I changed to meet our tastes and needs.


Chocolate Blueberry Zucchini Muffins Makes 12 to 16. Consider 1 muffin to be a balanced one block snack for a person who uses a meal balance of 3P, 2C,5F
Dry Ingredients

1 cup oat flour
five scoops chocolate egg white protein powder (15 blocks)
1 tablespoon apple pie spice, or 2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ tsp allspice, and a little nutmeg
1 tablespoon nonaluminum baking powder
2 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder

Wet Ingredients

2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites
2 ½ to 3 tablespoons light tasting olive oil
1 tablespoon almond extract
scant 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup plain yogurt

Add-ins

1/3 cup broken walnut pieces
½ cup blueberries
1 small to medium sized zucchini grated (grate at last minute to prevent the water from separating out)
(optional) ¼ cup organic high cocoa content chocolate chips or a 2 oz organic high cocoa content chocolate bar broken into pieces Don’t use regular chocolate chips because it will throw off the C balance.

Instructions

1. Pre heat the oven to 350°F. Oil the muffin tin, but don’t use any paper liners (they'll never come off the muffins)
2. Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside.
3. Combine the wet ingredients, whisking them together until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir just until evenly mixed, scraping the bottom of the bowl to incorporate the flour and remove lumps. Do not overmix, or muffins will be tough. Gently fold in the walnuts, blueberries, zucchini, and chocolate chips or pieces.
4. Spoon the batter equally into the muffin cups.
5. Bake just until firm to the touch and dried out on top, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, usually about 15 to 18 minutes. If over baked even by a few minutes they will be dry and tough. Cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edges if needed to remove from the muffin tin or use well oiled silicone muffin pans and they'll pop right out. Cover and refrigerate. Use the muffins within 1 week, or freeze them.