Sweet Potato Muffins

Here's a recipe I pulled from Runner's World in 2011. Tried them for the first time this morning! My reaction is mixed. First of all, I had to change some ingredients based on what I had in the house, and of course I always add a personal touch. Be that good or bad. So as I mentioned, my reaction is mixed, but I will definitely make these again and try to follow the recipe exactly. OK, except maybe for the vegetable oil. The texture of the muffins is great, but there's not tons of taste. Knowing these muffins are packed with nutrients though makes it even more appealing for me. The mild taste makes them very versatile; I could eat them for breakfast (and I did), eat them post-exercise (which I might in a little while) or they'd be great in my son's lunch or easy to eat on a road trip. Filling and good and healthy!

 

"These are the lightest, fluffiest, easiest whole-grain muffins—ever," promises Bittman. Using sweet potato adds moisture and nutrients, such as beta-carotene.

Sweet Potato Muffins
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (preferably pastry flour)
3/4 cup sugar (I tried mostly honey and some brown sugar, still didn't equal 3/4 cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used applesauce)
1 cup pureed or mashed cooked sweet potato
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used coconut milk mixed with a little Greek yogurt)

Our batch was very dry so we added extra applesauce and milk at the end.

• Heat oven to 375° F. Grease 12 muffin cups or add paper liners.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
• In a bowl, whisk butter, oil, sweet potato, egg, and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into the dry; stir until just combined.
• Fill muffin cups three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Banana Nut Variation Reduce sugar to 1/2 cup. Replace sweet potato with 1 cup mashed, very ripe banana; add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the batter.

Pumpkin Coconut Variation Replace sweet potato with 1 cup canned pumpkin; add 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut to the batter.

CALORIES PER MUFFIN: 248

CARBS: 37 G

FIBER: 3 G

PROTEIN: 4 G

FAT: 9 G

MARK BITTMAN may not be sure which marathon he's running next (he'll either tackle November's Philadelphia Marathon or December's Palm Beaches Marathon Festival), but he is sure about one thing: his training. "I'm doing a long run, speedwork, and tempo run every week," says Bittman, author of The Food Matters Cookbook. "And I'm following hard weeks with easier ones." For more, go to markbittman.com