muffin

Toddler-Friendly Foods: Spinach, Zucchini and Carrot Muffins

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

FW is a picky eater. He won’t touch any vegetables or meat*, and there are even just a few fruits he enjoys. His favorite food groups are: bread, bananas, plain Greek yogurt and cheese.

FW does, however, LOVE muffins. And anything remotely sweet. So, I’ve been making a lot of muffins lately, and trying to hide in as many veggies as I can. These muffins are a go-to in our house. You could probably omit some of the honey if you wanted them even lower sugar, but each muffin has about 9 g. of sugar, which is less than is in most non-plain yogurts.

These are easy, a fun color, and I enjoy eating them too! Try them out for yourself. They’re also FW (aka picky eater)-approved 🙂 AND, with their bright green color, they’d be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!

Spinach, Zucchini and Carrot Muffins - i crashed the web - toddler friendly food and breakfast

Spinach, Zucchini and Carrot Muffins
Makes 18-20 muffins

Here’s what you need:

  • 6 ounces raw spinach
  • 1 small zucchini
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 large banana
  • 1/2 cup milk (I’ve used unsweetened almond milk as well as whole milk, it depends on what I have on hand)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg, beaten (I’ve also used .25 c Egg Beaters)
  • 2 cups of whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners, or use silicone muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray (I have green and pink ones which FW loves to eat out of, so that’s what I tend to use).
  2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.
  3. In your blender or food processor (I put mine in my Vitamix), mix first 7 ingredients (spinach through butter) until completely pureed. Add in egg.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Mix together until just combined. Do not over-mix or muffins will be tough!
  5. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tins.
  6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into muffins comes out clean.

Spinach, Zucchini and Carrot Muffins - i crashed the web - toddler friendly food and breakfast

*Confession – FW did eat some meat somewhat recently – I snuck some ham into (you guessed it) a corn muffin!

Some questions for you:

  • Any tips for picky eaters?
  • Any favorite lower sugar muffin recipe?

Itty Bitty Baby Banana Muffins

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Bananas. Love ’em? Hate ’em? I have a love hate relationship with them. Some days I can’t stand the sight or smell of them. But I ALWAYS love banana muffins and bread. Don’t you?

I wanted to bring something with me to Melgar’s wedding for when we ladies were getting ready. We had fruit, veggies, sandwiches, and other food coming, but I thought it may be nice to bring some snacks for us ladies to enjoy while getting ready in the morning. So the first thing that came to mind was mini muffins! I’ve honestly never made mini muffins and was a little nervous they’d come out dry or burnt, but this recipe worked out perfectly. The next time you need to bring an easy breakfast or snack that’s shareable, I HIGHLY recommend you bring these. Oh and if you aren’t looking for mini muffins, then I suggest you try these larger muffins that I’m also a big fan of: Banana Crumb Muffins.

mini banana muffins~i crashed the web

Mini Banana Muffins

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin tins with mini muffin liners.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
  3. Mix mashed bananas, sugars, egg, butter and vanilla in a large bowl. Add in flour mixture with a spatula, and mix until smooth. Do NOT overmix. I purposely mixed with a spatula and folded the flour mixture in. If you use your stand mixer, mix very briefly – overmixed muffins are tough!
  4. Scoop batter into lined muffin pans and bake mini muffins for 12 to 15 minutes. Muffins are done when lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean with no batter.
  5. For fun, I also added a few chocolate and peanut butter chips to the top of a few before baking. Definitely recommend that 🙂

mini banana muffins - i crashed the web