Beet n’ Oat Muffins

What do you do when you have a 10 pound bag of beets and don’t really care much for canning stuff? Just use them in everything, that’s what!

Beets have such a gorgeous colour, I find they just make everything pretty.

I really like beets in their raw state but absolutely hate peeling them. I mean, their color is indeed pretty, but not when it’s all over my hands and fingers and cutting board for days! That reason alone often put me off me from eating them…

Now, when I made these muffins, I asked myself : “Self! Is it really necessary to peel the beets if you’re going to grate them?” And my answer was: “Not sure, but it’s sure worth a shot!”. So all I did was brush them under running water and cut off both ends, then I grated them. I think all it did was make them even more flavorful.

It made the muffins really taste like beet.

But I mean, hey, this IS what I’d been after. This IS a beet muffin after all. Not some oat muffin with a little bit of beet in it. It’s healthy, and it tastes healthy. Good, delectable, yummy healthy!

If like me you don’t like your muffins overly sweet, you will be very pleased with this one. This one is only barely sweet and it has a very dense and chewy texture, thanks to the addition of spelt flour. It’s definitely not a “cake like” muffin and you really do taste the beets, so if you don’t care much for them, you might want to try my Pear and Fig Bran Muffins, or my Banana Blueberry Buckwheat Muffins instead.

Oh, and one more thing. If you are using standard paper cups, don’t do like I did. Wait until they have completely cooled before you try and remove the paper, else, the paper will just cling to your muffin and steal half of it from you! So be patient, let them cool. Besides, I think these taste much better when they are cold. I even keep mine in the fridge.

Now, if you don’t think you have that kind of patience, use parchment paper instead. That simply NEVER sticks. Or cooking spray. Or, do like I did and half destroy your muffin, then claim the stolen parts back by scraping them off the paper with a knife.

Can’t let a single crumb go to waste!

BEET OATMEAL MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS
(yelds 9 extra large muffins)

Dry

• 1½ cup spelt flour
• 1½ cup rolled oats
• ¼ cup black chia seeds
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp cinnamon

Wet

• 2 cups grated beets (about 2 medium. No need to peel them, just clean them with a brush and remove the ends)
• 1 cup unswseetened applesauce
• 1 ripe banana
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup buttermilk

Extra goodies

• ½ cup raisins
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 425F and line your muffin pan with parchment paper “cups”, regular paper cups or coat with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients and whisk until well incorporated. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mash banana with a fork, until almost frothy in consistency. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined, then delicately fold in raisins and walnuts.
4. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 5 minutes at initial temperature of 425F, then lower oven temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until tops look nice and crunchy and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and then place on on a wire rack until they reach room temperature.
7. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.