Healthy Pear and Carrot Muffins//LEFTOVER GOURMET

I had bought a pint of low-fat vanilla yogurt the other day and, although I've practically made smoothies almost every morning, I was still not going to finish the tub before the expiration date hit.  After looking through my pantry and ideating on what I could create with my almost-spoiled yogurt,  I realized I had the pseudo-traditional ingredients to make carrot and pear muffins.

Since I'm on a pretty big health kick, I stuck to low-fat ingredients that were high in fiber and low in sugar.  But don't be fooled.  These muffins were REALLY yummy.  They just happen to be good for you too.

Pear and Carrot Breakfast Muffins

- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I didn't have whole wheat so I mixed a cup of all-purpose flour and 1/2 of buckwheat flour to give it that nutty bite and extra fiber)

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you love it, like me)

- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

- 1/3 cup brown sugar

- 1/2 cup yogurt (you can do vanilla, like I did, plain or greek for extra protein)

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 cup grated carrots

- 1 bosc ripe pear, cut into small squares

- 1/2 cup apple sauce

- pinch of salt

- 1 egg

- sliced almonds for sprinkling on top of the batter (walnuts work wonderfully as well)

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Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients: the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Then, in second larger bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, applesauce, sugar, vanilla extract, carrots and pears.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients in a bowl and mix together until you get a sticky batter that smells like heaven (a.k.a anything with cinnamon and brown sugar).

Divide the batter on a 12- muffin pan and sprinkle almonds on top.  Pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes (make sure you keep and eye on them) or until a knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Take them out of the oven and wait for them to cool off slightly.  Then, voila! A hearty, delicious breakfast muffin with enough substance to carry you through the morning.

I would suggest eating them warm and spreading a bit of butter on them.  A little bit of fat won't kill you, especially since this recipe does not call for any oil.  The applesauce and natural fat from the yogurt is enough to make these really moist.  Just make sure you don't over-bake them. 

I would love to hear about any alterations you would do to my recipe to make this vegan or dairy free.  Any recommendations are welcomed!