Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Hey guys! I found a ton of huge zucchini in my garden today that were just perfect for baking so I couldn't help myself…Even though this isn't my own recipe, I had to share! IThese muffins turned out beautifully and I actually enjoyed them way more than I thought I would! Don't be turned off by the zucchini, you can't taste it at all and it makes the muffins so rich and moist!  I felt so guilty eating these to the point where I had to remind myself they were actually good for you. They are high protein, low-fat, deliciously decadent and every chocolate lover's dream. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Serves 12:

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 extra ripe banana (120g)
• 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 medium-sized zucchini)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon( I left this out but feel free to add it!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
•  2 tbsp mini chocolate chips for topping(I used enjoy life chocolate chips, 30g)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin with olive oil spray.
• Using a food processor, grind oats until fine. They should have the consistency of flour.
• Add all other ingredients (except chocolate chips), and pulse until the batter has a smooth consistency. (Add a few ingredients at a time if your food processor has trouble mixing a lot at once.)
• Stir in additional chocolate chips if desired.
• Distribute batter evenly in the muffin tin.
• Sprinkle the tops with a little extra sugar or sweetener that measures like sugar and the chocolate chips.
• Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the tops gently bounce back when touched and a toothpick comes out of center of a muffin clean.
• Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of each muffin to remove from tray.

****My Changes***:

I added maybe a tad less than 1/4 cup splenda to the batter as I felt it needed a little extra sweetness. I also ground the oats and zucchini separate in the food processor since mine is very small and I just added them to a bowl with the other wet ingredients and stirred. Then combined the dry ingredients in another small bowl and added them in afterwards.

*Note* My oats are very prevalent in the final result because I have probably the worst food processor on the planet haha, so I'm sure your muffins will look much prettier than mine!

If you'd like the original recipe, it is available here:

http://www.examiner.com/article/healthy-baking-chocolate-zucchini-oat-muffins

Nutrition Facts with my modifications(per muffin): 154 calories, 25g carbs, 3g fat, 6g protein, 3g fibre