My boys absolutely love muffins for breakfast, or pancakes, but really they aren’t the most nutritious foods in the world. So here is my latest variation, hoping to add a little more pow to each yummy muffin. I start with King Arthur Gluten Free Muffin Mix. I think they make the best GF muffin mix available. Then I like to bump up the nutritional content, in this particular case I added an additional egg, one scoop of vanilla whey protein powder sweetened with stevia, a scant cup of cooked, mashed butternut squash, chopped nuts, chia seeds, 1/4 cup white chocolate chips, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg. Chia seeds have a nice amount of omega 3s, nuts and the additional egg add extra protein as does the protein powder. The squash is just another way to get some great veggies in, while the cinnamon and ginger add antioxidants. Cinnamon is also known to help keep blood sugar levels steady, while ginger may help lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure.
I like to round these out with a little low glycemic fruit such as strawberries and maybe another protein source such as left over cooked chicken or eggs. This way the boys are full without eating more than one muffin. We almost never drink fruit juice because it can elevate blood sugar so instead we opt for water. And often they will each enjoy a small glass of my green smoothie which gives them even more veggies to start their morning.
