A good-for-you muffin that’s loaded with applesauce and oatmeal, and sprinkled with a sweet and crunchy almond topping.
I have a recipe for you today. And if you’re wondering how a recipe ties in with NEDA week and my promise to talk more about my ED/recovery, just sit tight and I’ll tell ya.
I’ve always loved to bake. Always, always, always. I have so many fond childhood memories associated with baking… From whipping up countless batches of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with my mom (my favourite), to successfully cracking my first egg (sans eggshell), to eventually coming up with my own recipes, baking has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
It relaxes me… being in a warm kitchen, carefully measuring out ingredients, enjoying the fruits (read: cookies, bars, muffins, breads) of my labour…
I think it’s safe to say that it’s easily one of my favourite things in the world. It’s also one of the things that became lost to me when my eating disorder hit.
Anyone who’s ever struggled with an ED, or even disordered eating habits, knows the fear that comes with eating something that has unknown calories in it. No nutritional label? No bueno. That and a fear of fats and sugars basically made all baked goods off-limits.
So I gave up baking… eventually. There was a period in my ED where I would bake indulgent desserts for my family and friends just so I could spend more time around food and indulge in the activity that I loved, but I had to stop because it became too hard to be surrounded by delicious food that I’d never actually allow myself to eat. It was basically torture…
But enough doom and gloom, let’s talk about the good stuff — let’s talk about how baking actually helped me in recovery. Remember how I mentioned that it was basically one of my favourite things in the world? Well, I missed it after a while… enough to face my fears and whip out the cookie sheets and muffin pans again. It sounds a little crazy saying it now, but no one ever said EDs made any sense.
In any case… I started off small and safe — making healthy substitutions, avoiding too much fat or sugar, and ending up with “treats” that weren’t really treats — but at least it was a start. It gave me a taste of what I’d been missing out on and sparked a craving for more. I slowly got bolder and my treats became sweeter (and edible)… and it was my passion and love for baking that really helped me every step of the way.
Moral of the story? Start small and build strength — baby steps will still get you to where you want to be. Use your passions to drive you. Oh, and make these muffins… they’re delicious 😀
I’d love to know if you make this (or any!) recipe! Tag @runwithspoons on Instagram and Twitter, and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy and delicious recipes straight to your inbox!
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Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
Muffins
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted (or canola/vegetable oil)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raisins
Topping
- 2 Tbsp. quick-cooking oats
- 2 Tbsp. sliced/slivered almonds
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted (or butter)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a muffin tray, or line it with 12 paper/silicone muffin liners.
- Prepare topping: In a small bowl, combine oats, almonds, and brown sugar. Add melted coconut oil and mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. Beat egg in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk in applesauce, almond milk, brown sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing lightly until just combined. Fold in raisins.
- Divide batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Using your fingers, sprinkle topping onto each muffin.
- Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until top is firm to the touch and toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Is there any way to make this without the egg?
Thanks! 🙂
Hi..
The recipe is lovely and pics are so tempting. Do u have recipe of homemade apple sauce as I am not sure if it’s available in Qatar.
Thanks.
I do have this one here — http://www.runningwithspoons.com/recipe-index/chunky-homemade-applesauce/ — but you might want to run it through a blender or food processor after making it so help give it a smoother consistency.
Can I add sunflower seeds and Pumpkin seeds to this recipe? Thank you.
Of course! Those sound like they would make delicious add-ins 🙂
I would love to make these but my son can only eat gluten free. Can I use almond flour and if so what if any, change do I need to make.
Thank you
Gorgeous pictures…as always! These look amazing, girlie…I love the crunchy topping!
I think I’ve just gotten to a point in my life where I can start baking again. I’m not skilled in the baking department as far as coming up with my own stuff (unless by some act of God, a miracle happens in my kitchen), but I used to love making treats for myself and others. It’s been YEARS since I’ve done that on a regular basis! I really need to get back at it…and I’ve got plenty of YOUR recipes pinned that I can chose from! 😉
These would be so good for breakfast this weekend! This is my first time at your blog and I love the name and tagline!
Beautiful post (and of course, the muffins look delicious!). I completely relate to the fear of no nutrition label/ not knowing how many calories are in something. It really robbed us of a lot of joy and enjoyment, huh?
I LOVE muffins with crumble but have never made any! I like that they have extra almonds in for healthy fats 🙂 I’m traveling the next few weeks so I won’t have time to eat them before they go bad (or my dad eats them all) but I have to try when I’m back!
It is so true; muffins are a “safe” treat for so many people. I’m just in for the carbs 🙂 These look amazing! That crumble makes them so pretty and I always enjoy that extra flavor and crunch.
The story of baking an ED is incredible. It is funny as when I was a kid I loved baking, when I embarked on my journey of losing 100+ pounds I would also bake and give it away to friends and family but like for you it was torture. I’ve not 100% gone back to that baking passion as I think I still have the fear in me of baking again will bring back the weight I lost which sounds silly saying but it is how I feel.
The muffins truly look amazing and make me want to work on my photography skills but the story makes me want to try and reconnect with that love of baking without the fear.
So lovely to hear that your love for baking as a child, was also apart of your ED recovery. Smart of you to start small until you were built up enough strength/confidence to expand. I know I’ve told you this plenty of times, but you really are an exceptional lady, Amanda!
On another note – these muffins sound and look scrumptious! Have you ever used your homemade applesauce recipe in them?
I haven’t — I actually didn’t think of it until -after- I made em… so it looks like another batch is in order 😀
Well don’t these look delicious (Hi! I’m back!) I think it is wonderful how something that you feared has turned into such a positive for you. Calories suck.
You are such a strong woman. Good for you. Love these muffins, great idea adding the applesauce, will have to try that.
1. These look delicious
2. I can totally relate to not baking during my ED days… sad times
3.. But at least there was a happy ending for both of us!
A-freaking-men
Wow Amanda – these look awesome! I know when I was in the worst disordered eating stage, I wouldn’t make anything that I couldn’t count calories for!
That crunchy almond topping looks perfect!
Baking is truly an act of healing. Letting go of the unknown and trusting the process. I’m so glad you are back in the kitchen!
Omg I think I have everything (except the raisins) so I’m totally going to make these!!! YUM! Thanks for sharing another delicious recipe, Amanda!
I’m so glad that getting back into baking helped you! I’m so with you… baking with substitutes isn’t near as good!
So true what you said about EDs…no nutrition label, no way I’m putting it in my mouth. Why is it that we have such a strong need to control that we must know every, single, tiny think that goes past our lips. There were times when I wouldn’t even taste something my husband wanted me to try for fear that it would up my daily calories.
On a happier note…those muffins sound so good! Perfect to grab and go on a busy morning.
Oh my goodness. These are pure perfection. I love applesauce. Seriously, I can down that stuff like it’s nobody’s business. I love muffins that are sweet, so this will be perfect.
You keep hitting all of these home runs girl!
The story behind your passion for baking is inspiring- I’m so glad it was a vehicle of positive impact in your recovery. Here’s to many many more crew toons to come from the kitchen of spoons.
I find it difficult to label something as passion- but id have to say blogging and even sticking around maybe shows some passion 🙂
Ps send some over? I have quest bars and boiled eggs for breakfast because I’m lazy lol
Very wonderful baking memories here too! For me, it was baking challah with my mama. We’d make the dough, let it rise, punch it down, rise again, carefully braid, bake, and mmmmm….
I’ve always, always, always wanted to try making challah! It looks so complicated, but one day I’m going to have to give it a go.
It’s actually not that complicated! There are a lot of steps but it’s not hard. Challah is the only bread I can bake that turns out really, really well! Try it!
I said it in my last post, but baking is like therapy for me. I hope to keep progressing in my love for it by developing my own recipes one day too!
This recipe is just perfect for me right now, because I have an unopened jar of applesauce that I want to eat, but I also know that I want to bake with it. How did you know?? 🙂
Yummmmm, these muffins look to die for! 😀 And I remember i used to get sooo anxious when there was food/baked goods around, especially if I was the one making all the stuff but couldn’t even taste test because one little bite meant 4310743289472 calories. This is such a great way to tie it into NEDA!
I make my own applesauce and love including it in recipes. I cannot wait to try this one! Laffy Taffy and Bubble Yum reminds me of my childhood. We used to go to the store with $.25 and get to pick out whatever we wanted from the bins – it was such a treat.
I remember those as well 🙂 And getting a tiny bit of money to buy sweets was definitely one of the best parts of growing up.
I love these. I love the ingredient list and the cripsy, crunchy topping. I’m so glad you are back and baking again because the world would be a gloomier place without these muffins and your smiling face.
Growing up, I always made chocolate chip cookies, mainly just to eat the raw dough but usually a few cookies survived. It was always the recipe on the back of the bag of Tollhouse chips too.
My passion is promoting health and wellness and trying to get people to see that healthy doesn’t have to equal boring or bad. Veggies can be a whole lot of fun too.
I do love baking! I’m not as skilled at it as I would like to be, but maybe that just means I need more practice 😉 Back in the ED, I was actually obsessed with baking…I’d make the sugariest, butter-filled recipes I could find for family gatherings just so I could live vicariously through the people ‘allowed’ to eat my food. Now I definitely make sure that I enjoy whatever I bake!
I think the post-ED baking is probably what killed my love for it for a little while…someone can only take so many 100% whole wheat flour, applesauce (no butter), and splenda muffins. I actually thought that I didn’t really like baked goods anymore…apparently, I just don’t like the inedible ones.
A dish that brings back childhood memories: sweet potato casserole with a pecan crumb topping. My aunt makes it and it was a staple at every dinner gathering on my mom’s side of the family.