Savoury breakfast muffins

These muffins are an absolute hit and never last long. It’s so nice to have them ready for when you wake up, so you do not have to worry about cooking breakfast. I just heat a couple up in the microwave and top with some feta and chutney and it is a delicious and quick breakfast (or snack in between meals). They hit all the key food groups with carbohydrates from the wholemeal flour and the vegetables, protein from the eggs and yoghurt, and fat from the olive oil and cheese. According to the 2014-2015 report by Australian Bureau of Statistics, just 7% of adults and 5% of children are eating sufficient vegetables. These muffins are full of sneaky veg, so can help you bump up your plant foods for the day.

Justification for ingredients:

• Wholemeal flour- Made from wholegrains and high in fibre and B vitamins. Wheat has a bad wrap but it is an extremely nutritious grain.

• Greek yoghurt- Very high in complete protein to keep us fuller for longer and a great calcium source.

• Pizza sauce- I prefer the Coles one ($2), and love that it contains olive oil instead of "vegetable oil" as olive oil is much less inflammatory. It's a mix of tomatoes, herbs and garlic with no additives, so it is perfect for flavouring the muffins.

• Olive oil- Better alternative to butter as high in monounsaturated fatty acids instead of saturated fat.

Ingredients

Makes 12

2 cups wholemeal flour

3 tbsp psyllium husk

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 eggs

1 zucchini grated

1 cup broccoli chopped

1 cup baby spinach chopped

1 packet of fresh chives chopped

1 cup greek yoghurt

½ cup extra sharp shredded parmesan cheese (if you're concerned about your salt intake, swap this for regular cheese)

1 tsp Vegemite (or Pro-mite/ Marmite)

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup pizza sauce

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 12-hole muffin pan (this recipe is better without patty pans).

Beat eggs in a large sized bowl. Add the olive oil, greek yoghurt, pizza sauce, half of the cheese, Vegemite and mix.

Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a small bowl. Add to the egg mixture and mix only until just combined. Add all the vegetables and chives to the mixture and mix very slightly (The batter will be very thick). Use your hands to mix everything together.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle the leftover cheese on top. Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes.

These are delicious served warm, cut in half and spread with a topping of your choice such as avocado, soft cheeses, chutney, butter... the world is your oyster!

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NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serving size- 1 muffin

Energy- 693kJ/ 166 cal

Carbohydrate- 16.4g

Protein- 7.8g

Fat- 7.5g

Fibre- 4.4g

Sodium- 235mg (with tasty cheese 195mg)

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