Carrot and Pecan Muffins

What’s better than carrot cake in the morning?  These healthy muffins are tender, crunchy, and bursting with flavor. 

Ingredients:

1 cup pecan halves

1 cup almond flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 scoop vanilla almond powder

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon crystalized ginger

½ cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cup nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3 cups shredded carrot (I used 1 parsnip and 2 medium carrots)

2 packets sugar in the raw (1-2 tablespoons)

Directions:

1. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Roast pecans at 350 for 10 minutes. 
   1. Lightly chop pecans in a food processor or by hand. 
2. Add flours, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, crystallized ginger to a large bowl and mix to combine.
3. Add brown sugar, applesauce, eggs, and yogurt and mix in scraping the edges of the bowl.  Mix to just combine.
4. Fold in the chopped pecans and mix.
5. Fold in the shredded carrots.
6. Spray muffin tins with baking spray.  Use a large cookie scooper to fill 12 muffin tins.
7. Sprinkle muffins with a little sugar in the raw for some added crunch and sweetness.
8. Bake 25-30 minutes until muffins are set.
9. Let muffins cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from muffin tins.
10. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate after 24 hours.
11. Enjoy!