Simmie's Chocolate Muffins (C3)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

This is a change from my usual oatmeal cookie muffins made with applesauce.  This version uses no applesauce but does use regular lowfat flavored yogurt and a little bit of unsweetened almond milk.

Caution: Do not overbake, even by 1 or 2 minutes -- that can make all the difference in the world!

2 scoops Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 3/4 cups Oatmeal
1 Tbsp Unsweetened Almond Milk
2 containers (12 ounces total) CarbMasters Vanilla Yogurt - creamed well
2 Eggs
1 heaping tsp Baking powder
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp Stevia Extract
1 Tbsp Olive oil

Combine all dry ingredients and mix together well.  Then add the yogurt which you have "creamed" really well with a spoon until it is very smooth.  Add the rest of the "wet" ingredients (almond milk, eggs, oil) and mix well.

Spray either a 12-serving or 6-serving muffin tin with your favorite nonstick spray and put the batter into each muffin tin.  I use an ice cream scoop, as the size that goes into each one is perfect for the 12-serving tins and 2 scoops is perfect for the 6-serving tins.

Bake 18-20 minutes in a 350 oven.  Be sure that you do not over-bake these, as even 1 or 2 minutes will make the difference between good and somewhat dry. (I discovered that with the strawberry muffins this morning!)

Remove from the oven and place on your counter and let them sit for 5-10 minutes, then remove from the baking pan.

These do not need to be frozen, however they do need to be refrigerated.

I usually sit one out on the counter in either a covered plastic container or bag the night before and reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds maximum.  I usually place a damp (almost wet) towel around them to keep the moisture in.

Note:

• If you cannot find CarbMasters yogurts near you (Kroger brand), what they are is a non-greek yogurt that is low fat and low sugar (1.5g fat, 3g sugar) and 60 calories per 6 ounce serving.  Look for something comparable to that or find a plain non-greek yogurt and maybe add some extracts.
• I will be putting up the Strawberry version later today, but basically the only difference is Strawberry Whey Protein Powder and Strawberry yogurt.
• In this next week, I will be working on figuring out how many mini bites this recipe makes; when I'm done with that, I'll update this recipe with that information as well.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Calories: Regular sized: 127; Jumbo: 254
Fat: Regular: 3.6g; Jumbo: 7.2g
Fiber: Regular: 2.1g; Jumbo: 4.3g
Protein: Regular: 8.3g; Jumbo: 16.7g
Carbs: 14.8g; Jumbo: 29.7g
Sugars: 1g; Jumbo: 2.1g

17 Day Diet specifics: 1 natural starch is about 15-20 grams of carbs, so the regular size would be just under 1 natural starch serving and the jumbo would be just under 2.

Jumbo muffins are basically twice the size as the regular muffins.

For those on MyFitnessPal for tracking recipes, these can be found there as:
Simmie's Chocolate Muffins 6 ct
Simmie's Chocolate Muffins 12 ct