Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These light and brightly flavored Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, which are also gluten free, are fantastic for on-the-go breakfasts or snacks. Easy to freeze! 128 calories and 4 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP

If there’s one thing that requires double and even triple batches around here, it’s muffins. As soon as the muffins come out of the oven, the scent gently wafting to all corners of the house, my family transforms into a school piranhas. Any remnants of the baked morsels are stripped from the cooling rack in minutes. These healthy lemon poppy seed muffins are no exception, which is exactly why I make extra batches to stash in the freezer.

I don’t know if it was the bright lemon flavor, the slight crunch of the poppy seeds or the light as air quality (thanks to the oat flour), but these quickly became some of our favorites muffins. And that’s saying something because we are firm devotees of banana nut muffins and carrot muffins.

I’ve used oat flour in baked goods before, namely whole wheat scones, but I typically mixed the oat flour in a 50-50 combo with whole wheat pastry flour. In fact, if you do some googling, you’ll find that most bakers recommend mixing oat flour with another type of flour. But I was curious about what would happen if I used oat flour exclusively in these easy lemon poppy seed muffins.

The result? Light as air, moist lemon poppy seed muffins that also happen to be gluten free and healthy. Sold!

How do you make poppy seed muffins?

• This recipe follows the basic formula that I used for healthy muffins.
• Start by whisking together the dry ingredients – this case, that’s oat flour (more on that later), baking soda and salt. Stir in any extra spices or dry flavorings, such as poppy seeds and lemon zest.
• Stir together the wet ingredients – yogurt, applesauce, egg and lemon juice.
• Combine the wet and dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Over mixing makes for tough muffins.
• Scoop the batter into prepared muffin tins and bake!
• Serve, store in a airtight container or freeze for later.

What are the benefits of oat flour?

• If you follow a gluten free diet, oat flour is a great option for baking. Be sure to use oat flour that is certified gluten free, such as this one. If making your own oat flour (more on that in a moment), use gluten free oats.
• Oat flour boasts a plethora of nutrients, including fiber, protein, phosphorous, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc and others.
• Oats and oat flour have been shown in studies to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.
• How to make oat flour – Simply place the oats in a food processor and mix until it reaches a very fine consistency. To remove any leftover lumps, run the flour through a sifter.

Other healthy muffin recipes:

Whole Wheat Apple Spice Muffins
Whole Wheat Zucchini Carrot Muffins
Blueberry Buckwheat Muffins

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I’ll be sure to find it.

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Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 12 mins

Total Time 22 mins

These light and brightly flavored Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, which are also gluten free, are fantastic for on-the-go breakfasts or snacks. Easy to freeze! 128 calories and 4 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP

Yields 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups oat flour (be sure it’s certified gluten free)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp poppy seeds
• Grated zest of 2 lemons
• ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup coconut palm sugar
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest.
3. In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, Greek yogurt, coconut palm sugar, canola oil, egg and lemon juice. Stir together until the mixture is smooth.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the applesauce mixture until combined. Do not overmix.
5. Scoop the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tin.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean, 12 to 14 minutes.
7. Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack and allow to cool completely. Serve or store in an airtight container.

by From the kitchen of cookincanuck.com

Recipe Notes

Weight Watchers Points: 4 (Freestyle SmartPoints), 5 (Old SmartPoints), 3 (Points+)