Skinny Raspberry Lemon Protein Muffins

So my skinny adventure AKA diet for vacay is still holding strong. I did have an "oops" day... or a major cheat day on Sunday. I ate all sorts of goodies at brunch and they had bottomless mimosas... ugh of course I can't say no! Then later I ate mediterranean food until I was in a food coma. So needless to say Monday morning I felt uber guilty and got back on track.

 I also started looking up bikinis online and thats one hell of a motivation to get up off your booty. Seriously... when you need some motivation just go to bathing suit shops online, especially Victoria's Secret. Something else I do to motivate myself is I go on Pinterest and type in "fitness motivation". I love doing this anytime before I am about to go workout or when I really don't feel like moving that day! Then I think "C'mon, one hour is 4% of your day! You can do this! You are strong!" and then any junk food in the kitchen screams back "You deserve a break! You know how good we taste, just stay home and snuggle with me!"  Le sigh.... its tough. At the end of the day if I've worked out and eaten healthy I seriously am so proud of myself, its sad.... So I thought, why don't I make a yummy treat that can satisfy my loud cravings and still be awesome for my new fitness plan! Enter protein muffinsssssssssssssss :D

I started poking around Pinterest to see what some people were doing with these. Some were using whole wheat flour and some no flour at all. Some used eggs, some not. Some used some crazy stuff I've never even heard of! I decided to skip the whole wheat flour and go a healthier, gluten-free direction. I used oat flour and coconut flour. Oat flour is basically just grinded up quick oats! Coconut flour will probably be the priciest ingredient. One bag cost me $8ish. See below for the brand I used. I have never made anything with coconut flour but it worked great! As you can see it is loaded with fiber and protein and low in carbs, perfect :) 

This kind of flour is perfect for muffins and cakes. However, remember a little goes a long way. It is a more dry flour and it will soak up a lot of moisture so you wouldn't use the same measurement as other flours. 

My favorite kind of muffin is blueberry but I thought I would switch it up and try something new! These little guys have raspberries in them as well as banana and lemon zest making for a refreshing treat! I love these after the gym. Since they are loaded with protein from the coconut flour, protein powder and greek yogurt, they are just perfect for the getting sexy plan. Oh and they are only about 120 cals per muffin! 

When they came out of the oven I was immediately itching to try one. My impatience always gets me! So I did, I dug into one. Bad idea :( They were still a little soft inside. They really need to cool down before you try them. They also keep better if stored in the refrigerator. Since we are using non-traditional muffin ingredients, they are going to be a little different! 

The banana and apple sauce I added to these muffins gave them a moistness that I missed in other skinny muffins. I am so glad I have finally found the right ingredients to make a healthy muffin taste so yummy and not like a dense rock. I hope you likey and let me know how it goes! 

Servings: 12 muffins
Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour (I used Red Mill brand)
• 1 cup oat flour (simply grind up some quick oats in your magic bullet or food processor. Make sure the finished product is 1 cup, so you may need to use 1,5 cups before ground.)
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (one individual sized container)
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tbsp raw honey (make sure its raw! the other stuff is basically just like eating sugar)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp almond extract (you can absolutely use vanilla, I was just trying something new and it was yummy!)
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 scoops Lean 1 vanilla protein powder, or any other powder you have 
• 1 package fresh raspberries
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Line your muffin tin with muffin cups and lightly spray them with butter spray
• You will need 2 bowls, one for dry and one for wet ingredients, per usual ;)
• In one bowl add your coconut and oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, protein powder and lemon zest. Mix well. 
• In the second bowl add greek yogurt, egg whites, honey, applesauce, almond extract and banana. Mix well. 
• Combine both mixes until smooth, DO NOT OVER MIX! Just until everything is combined. Over mixing leads to tough muffins. 
• Fill your muffin cups evenly. 
• Place some raspberries on top of the doughy cups and lightly push them in, not too much. 
• Bake for about 25 minutes. I have found that not all ovens are created equal. So you may want to try 22 minutes at first, then check the muffins with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, they're done! 
• At the end I sprinkled a little organic Florida Crystals sugar on top just for looks, just a tiny sprinkle! ;)

*Store in fridge!*