Healthy Whole Wheat, Oat, and Flax Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze

It's unfortunate that you have to see this on here. If you're currently reading this feel free to hit the "back" button or completely x-out your browser altogether. It's about to get real up in here.

For the past two and a half years I've wanted to lose weight. After Ry-ster was born in December 2008 I was at the highest weight I've ever been at, and with the help of Weight Watchers (and my momma) I was able to lost over 40 pounds. Needless to say, I was very happy with that but I still wanted to lose more... Instead, life happened and I slowly let the weight creep back on.

It actually felt good to have a reason for being so heavy before, but now I have no excuses. Sure nursing school is hard, raising a child is difficult, being broke sucks, and baking for a food blog or being a fat kid at heart has its downfalls. But we all struggle with these very same things...and by very same things I mean stress, guilt, and fat-kid syndrome.

I've used this blog over the past year as a way to teach myself how to become a better baker and cook. I've brought fat-kid syndrome relief to the people around me on occasion, and I've learned that I love food even more than I imagined. If I can use this outlet to teach myself a new skill and make people happy, surely I can use it to discover how to lose weight.

I had reservations about making this blog into a weight loss avenue, even for a short time. "Skill" and "diet food" don't go hand in hand in my land (I'm a poet and I didn't even know it). I get slightly nauseated at the idea of posting muffins and chicken every week (in my head muffins and chicken are quintessential diet food). It's been done, will be done again, and will continue to bore thousands of people who go online looking to find something new and different. I don't want to be the muffin chicken person.

Then I realized that I was kind of copping out. I can create recipes and variations beyond what I see in a recipe, so I can definitely come up with cool dessert-y diet food. I can make muffins and chicken fun. Nobody wants to compromise on something they love doing, especially when it's just a hobby. But food is really more than a hobby for everyone...it's what you put into your body day after day. It's what your cells and brain run off of 24/7. It should be healthy, at least most of the time. Like I said, I'm just a fat kid looking for an excuse to bake cake.

That said, I made healthy whole grain, oat, and flax carrot cake muffins to kick start this whole diet thing. I put a sweet cream cheese glaze on top to satisfy my inner fat kid...or outer, whatevs. I love love love them. P.S. I'm now posting nutritional information along with my recipes, mostly for my own self. These are pretty much breakfast with coffee, but they're super healthy and packed with grains, oats, flax, and carrots. I  feel good about these babies!

Whole Wheat, Oat, and Flax Carrot Cake Muffins

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup ground flax meal

2/3 cup dark brown sugar 

2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 tbl pure vanilla extract
4 medium carrots, grated (about 11/2 cups)
1 medium apple, peeled and grated (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Whisk the flours, oats, flax, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In another medium bowl lightly whisk the eggs together. Add the vegetable oil and vanilla and whisk to combine.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture. Gently mix the two together until no visible streaks of flour remain (be careful not to over mix). Stir in the carrots and apple just until evenly moist; the batter will be very thick. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Turn muffins out of the tins and cool on a rack. Top with cream cheese glaze while still warm. 

Cream Cheese Glaze

4 ounces (half a loaf) cream cheese, at room temp

3 tbl powdered sugar

1-2 tbl milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat to combine. Add the milk and vanilla extract. Beat until completely combined. Spread over warm muffins. 

Source: Muffin recipe adapted from Food Network Kitchens. Glaze recipe Sarah Cupcake original.

Nutrition Facts - 12 Servings - Amount Per Serving:

Calories: 236  

Fat: 11.3 g 

Carbohydrate: 31.0 g 

    Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g 

    Sugars: 17.4 g

Protein: 4.5 g