Muffin Inspiration for the Next Time You’re Snack Parent
By Amanda Johnson
The Weekly Squeak just dropped in your inbox and you forgot you’re Snack Parent this week. Eek! Now you’ve got to figure out what to feed 12 hungry, picky preschoolers. What to do? You quickly run through your list of go-to snacks in your head. You and your kiddo are tired of string cheese. Mandarin oranges are overplayed. Yogurt is way too messy for school. Cookies: too sugary.
You surprisingly have a little extra time this week (play with me here) so you think maybe you’ll make something delicious. And nutritious. But what?
Let me help. I have a couple of go-to muffin recipes my son loves that are great for snack time. When I bake, I make an effort to keep the ingredients as healthy as possible, but still taste delicious. I like to use ingredients like whole wheat flour and unrefined coconut oil. The results are a plate of crumbs so I must be doing something right.
Baking is a fun activity to do with your preschooler. My son loves to help, but I should add it’s always under supervision. Otherwise we’d end up with the entire bottle of vanilla in the batter. He also loves to get his hands messy.
The first recipe I’m going to share is for Apple Carrot Muffins. We brought these on our first snack day at BFCP and they were a big hit. A couple of people asked for the recipe, which we shared on our class Facebook page. I thought it would be fun to share with everyone on the blog.
Apple Carrot Muffins
One of my favorite things about this recipe is I get to hide a veggie in them by way of the carrot. We struggle with vegetables in our house so adding them in surprising places is a great solution for us.
Last time we used this recipe it made SIX DOZEN mini muffins. That’s huge! We put about two-thirds in the freezer for later. If you’re making them for preschool, there will be plenty to share! Or you could always cut the recipe in half to make less. But why would you want to do that?
Ingredients:
1 apple
2 carrots (can substitute zucchini if desired)
2 eggs
2 cup oats
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
3 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat over to 350 degrees F
Grate carrots and apple
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl
Grease two 12 cup muffin pans, or mini muffin pans
Scoop batter into each cup
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 min ( If using 2 pans of mini muffins, I’ve found 15 minutes is a good time frame for them)
Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
I don’t always have fresh blueberries around due to the season. When that’s the case, I substitute frozen blueberries (I buy a big bag at Costco), and rinse them off before I add them into the mixture.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 pint fresh blueberries (2 cups frozen blueberries)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease or line muffin cups with paper liners. My preschooler loves bite sized mini muffins so I use mini muffin pans.
Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
Whisk vegetable oil, egg, milk and applesauce together in a separate bowl until smooth, and stir the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture until moistened.
Lightly stir in the blueberries.
Spoon batter into the muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full.
Bake about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. You can insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin to test if they are cooked. If it comes out clean you’re good to go.
There you have it – two of our favorite muffin recipes. You can use these as inspiration for your next snack day