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VEGETARIAN FAMILY FOOD - MY MISSION TO GET MY KIDS TO EAT MORE FRUIT AND VEG

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Healthy carrot muffins – vegan and nut free

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My healthy carrot muffins will go down a treat with anyone looking for a delicious, filling bake that is low in refined sugar. They’re packed full of nutritious ingredients and suitable for vegans.

As they’re nut free too they are perfect for kids lunch boxes although I must admit to eating as many of them as my kids do!

Healthy carrot muffins recipe - vegan

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The challenge of making a nutritious lunchbox for a picky eater

I only started making a daily lunchbox for my picky eating seven year old in September last year and while we got off to a good start, by December he was coming home with a full lunch box several times each week.

Yes, that’s right – he hadn’t eaten any of his lunch. When I asked him why he said that he wasn’t given enough time at school to eat but I think that was just an excuse. The reality is that he has a limited amount of foods that he’s willing to eat and so of course he does end up eating the same thing quite a lot. 

This is in fact known as food jagging and it’s really common with kids who only eat a few different things. They will eventually get bored of having the same thing over and over again. The advice is to serve up familiar foods but in different formats – so for example if your kid likes apples then try serving sliced apples one day, apple sauce another and apple muffins on a different occasion. 

If this is something that you are struggling with as well then I recommend that you check out the resources offered by Simone Emery of Play With Food* – her video courses have really helped me out and there are plenty of invaluable free articles and tips on her site too.

Healthy carrot muffins recipe - vegan

Why carrot muffins?

Everyone loves carrot cake right? These healthy carrot muffins are part of my new year resolve to ensure that at least some of my son’s lunch gets eaten every day. While carrots are definitely not on his “safe food” list – cake usually is! 

Wish me luck…

Are the chia seeds essential?

Not really, no. The chia seeds are in these muffins to add nutritional value rather than as an egg substitute, which is why they’re not ground up. You can leave them out if you don’t have any available.

I’ve tried to include as many nutritional ingredients as I can in these muffins – including a portion of hidden vegetables (carrots). So do consider getting some chia seeds if you can – they’re a great source of vegetarian protein, Omega-3 and various other nutrients.

While I made these with my older child in mind these carrot muffins are a great choice for toddlers too. You can make them in fairy cake cases instead to reduce the size (free any leftovers).

Are these carrot muffins nut free?

These muffins are nut free as my children’s school has a nut free policy due to allergies. If you don’t need these to be nut free some chopped walnuts in place of the sunflower seeds would be lovely.

More carrot recipes

Healthy carrot cake

Wholemeal carrot soda bread rolls

Carrot cake energy balls

Carrot hummus

Carrot cake overnight oats

Healthy carrot cake bars

These healthy carrot muffins will go down a treat with anyone looking for a delicious, filling bake that is low in refined sugar. They're packed full of healthy ingredients and suitable for vegans

How to make healthy carrot muffins:

These healthy carrot muffins are really easy to make.

Simply mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Then in a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients and the grated carrot together.

Fold in the dry ingredients and finally stir in the milk before spooning into the muffin cases and baking. 

Healthy carrot muffins recipe - vegan
Print

Healthy carrot muffins

My healthy carrot muffins will go down a treat with anyone looking for a delicious, filling bake that is low in refined sugar. They’re packed full of nutritious ingredients and suitable for vegans. As they’re nut free too they are perfect for kids lunch boxes although I must admit to eating as many of them as my kids do!
Course Snack
Cuisine International
Keyword healthy carrot muffins
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 12
Author Mandy Mazliah

Ingredients

  • 250 g carrots grated
  • 125 g sultanas
  • 100 ml sunflower oil olive works as well
  • 1 tbsp whole chia seeds optional
  • 15 g pumpkin or sunflower seed chopped
  • 125 ml maple syrup
  • 250 g spelt flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 4 tbsp milk I used oat milk
Metric - US Customary

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan)/180°C/gas mark 4.
  2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cases and set aside.
  3. Mix the grated carrot, sultanas, oil, seeds and maple syrup together in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Sift the flour, baking powder, and spices together and fold into the carrot mixture.
  5. Finally stir through the milk. You'll have quite a sticky mixture.
  6. Spoon the mixture into each of the paper cases and bake for 25-30 minutes until firm to the touch and cooked through.
  7. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container for 2-3 days or in the freezer.

 

 

 

*This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you buy anything from Play with Food after clicking on this link I will receive a small commission but you will pay the same price. I only recommend products that  I have tried out and genuinely find useful. Thanks for supporting Sneaky Veg!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Monika Dabrowski

    January 5, 2018 at 9:18 am

    These muffins ooze goodness and deliciousness! My kind of snack idea, though probably not my children’s! I am so glad my youngest is in high school now and I no longer have to rack my brain what to put in his lunchbox – he now eats pizzas and paninis and chips in the school cafeteria along with all his friends. That’s right, it is very uncool to bring food from home, and once they leave primary education there is nothing you can really do about it. So I now focus on making sure they eat healthy stuff at home – it’s impossible not to be a healthy food blogger if you’ve got teenagers:) thank you for bringing your delicious muffins to #CookBlogShare!

    Reply

    • Mandy Mazliah

      January 5, 2018 at 10:46 am

      That’s really interesting, I hadn’t really thought about that. Do you give him cash every day to buy what he wants? Thanks for the kind works about the muffins x

      Reply

  2. Angela / Only Crumbs Remain

    January 5, 2018 at 9:42 am

    These look and sound gorgeous Mandy, I love that I can see little pieces of the carrot and sultanas – it really adds to the interest. That said, I must admit that I was a fussy eater as a child (or picky as Mum would describe me!) I clearly remember always picking out the chopped onions if she made a mince dish (and to be honest I still do when she makes us quorn mince! She just chops them too big for me 😀 Lol!) And I’m only now starting to get to grips with granary bread! It’s the bits! I know how old am I!
    Angela x
    PS, You’d be more than welcome to add into my #BakingCrumbs linky if you like 🙂

    Reply

    • Mandy Mazliah

      January 5, 2018 at 10:45 am

      Thanks Angela – I’ll add it to my to do list. I have a real problem with big undercooked bits of onion in dishes too – it’s been the biggest problem in our marriage so far that my husband never cooks onion properly!!!

      Reply

  5. Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie

    January 7, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    YUM! These look awesome…if your kids won’t eat them, you can send them to me 😀 I love how jampacked with goodness they are!! Your conversation above with Angela made me laugh…I’ve spent a long time training my husband to cook onions correctly…he’s just about got it now I think. I am really NOT a fan of undercooked onions. I really do think cooking has a lot to do with why people are often not that keen on veg – overcooked soggy carrots/cabbage/broccoli or undercooked onions/aubergines/potatoes have a lot to answer for! Eb x

    Reply

  6. Jenny Paulin

    January 7, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    I have two fussy eaters Mandy, although they do eat their food inside their lunch boxes , it is main courses at home I struggle with. However, like you I like to include some homemade cakes because I like to sneak I some fruit/veg. I hadn’t thought about adding chai seeds for nutritional reasons, I must look into getting some.
    These muffins look delicious and my two adore carrot cakes,so I think they would gobble yours up very easily. Hope yours enjoyed them?
    happy new year btw xx

    Reply

    • Mandy Mazliah

      January 9, 2018 at 9:07 pm

      Thanks Jenny – two out of three enjoyed them and I’ll persist with the third! Happy new year to you too x

      Reply

  7. Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder

    January 9, 2018 at 10:44 pm

    These got huge thumbs up from my hubby when he peered over my shoulder so will be baking them for his brekkie on the go. He is never hungry first thing so breakfast at home is out of the question and I’m always on the look out for healthier alternatives to his rather junky “grab’n’go” pastry favourites. My kids also love anything carrot including carrot cake so it will be a nice healthy snack for them too. Thanks Mandy! x

    Reply

  10. Julie

    January 20, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    Ooh these healthy carrot muffins look yummy, perfect for baking with kids. I’m sure the fussiest of eaters will enjoy these. Commenting as BritMums Baking Round-up Editor. 🙂

    Reply

  13. Sarah

    June 6, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    What would you recommend as an alternative to spelt flour if you haven’t got any in your pantry? Wholemeal flour possibly?
    Thanks!

    Reply

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