Healthy PB Chocolate Muffins

Lately these have been my go-to breakfast: I bake a bunch at once, freeze most of them, and every morning I pull out two and microwave them for thirty seconds. That, plus whatever fruit I have in the house, makes a really satisfying and filling breakfast that keeps me full until lunchtime - which is saying something where my metabolism is concerned! I actually put this recipe through a nutrition calculator and was excited to see that each muffin has 8 grams of protein. (That's more than an egg!) I'll include the full nutrition info at the bottom.

2 eggs
1/4 c canola oil
1/2 c honey
1/2 c kefir (or buttermilk, 1/2 milk and 1/2 yogurt, or milk soured with a little lemon juice)
1/2 c PB
1.5 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c oats
1 T baking powder
3/4 t salt
1/3 c cocoa

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a full-sized muffin tin. Add eggs, oil, honey, kefir, and peanut butter to a medium-sized bowl and mix thoroughly. Carefully scoop flour and oats onto the top of the wet ingredients without stirring them in. Add baking powder, salt, and cocoa, and use a fork or a whisk to sift them into the flour mixture before stirring the dry ingredients through the wet. Fill muffin cups and bake for 18 minutes. 

Protein Snack Cookies (Gluten-free, Sugar-free)

Prep time: Easy

I'm off sugar again, which of course means I'm looking for a few more healthy-but-sweet snacks to help me get by. I've made these protein cookies from Kula Mama twice now and really enjoyed them both times. They're not overly sweet—definitely more of a snack than a dessert in most cases—but that's the way I prefer them, anyway! The recipe is very flexible and easy to adapt. I also think it would be delicious with some cocoa powder, but I'm currently out so can't test out that theory!

1/4 cup coconut oil or butter (both are good and give it totally different flavors)

1/2 cup maple syrup or honey

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1 cup nut butter (I use PB)

1 t baking soda

3 cups oats (for gluten-free cookies use GF oats)

If desired, you can swap out some of the oats for seeds or nuts

1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional—obviously with chocolate chips they're no longer refined sugar-free)

Preheat oven to 350. Melt oil or butter and peanut butter together just until they're softened. Add sweetener, vanilla, and eggs, and mix together. Stir in baking soda. Stir in oats and any additions. Spoon onto sprayed cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. I've been freezing most of mine—they're good right out of the freezer or after thawing for about half an hour. (I'm sure they'd be good microwaved, too.)