Hi Everyone!

Here's a Zone balanced muffin that comes out very moist. It's inspired by the muffin recipes in Zone books. I combined a couple of Zone book muffin recipes, dropped and added ingredients and tweaked it a number of times. This is the final result. The last time made these, many years ago, Zone Labs protein powder was not yet available so I’ve never tried it in this recipe. If anyone makes this recipe let me know how you like it!



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Chocolate Blueberry Zucchini Muffins




Makes 12 to 16 muffins



Consider 1 muffin to be a balanced one block snack both for individuals who use an equal P and C balance and for those who use the drop 1 carb balance.



Dry Ingredients:


1 cup oat flour
5 scoops of chocolate egg white protein powder, the type of protein powder used is critical to the texture and moistness of the muffin(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 olive oil (do not use evoo)
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 chocolate chips or 1 small organic low carb content dark 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.
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 over mix, or muffins will be tough. Gently fold in the walnuts, blueberries, zucchini, and chocolate chips or pieces.
4. Spoon the batter equally into silicone muffin pans that have been oiled with a little olive oil. Do not use muffin cup papers.
5. Bake just until firm to the touch and golden on top and around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, usually about 15 to 18 minutes. Take care not to over bake. If over baked 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). Cover and refrigerate. Use the muffins within 1 week, or freeze.