The Best Post Workout Chocolate Muffin

 Get ready! The recipe for the BEST post workout chocolate muffin is just a few lines below. I mean, it's THE chocolate muffins of all chocolate muffins. Just look at it! 

Let's start with the good stuff.

 Okay, wait. It's actually all good. And choc full (see what I did there) of chocolaty goodness and secretly healthy. How can a chocolate muffin that tastes and looks this good be healthy? 

Well, let me tell you. 

 Firstly, this is a low cal, low fat, low sugar, moderate protein, and moderate carb muffin. Plus, it is completely flourless! Yup, you read it right. No flour here. Put it back in your cabinets and then do a little happy dance for getting to indulge in a baked, chocolate treat with no flour!  

And the flavor?

 Well, let's just say it reminds me a bit of a Costco chocolate muffin, with the cake-like texture, and melted chocolate chips adding additional drops of sweetness in every bite. If you've never had one, it is totally worth it for a cheat day. I totally grew up on Costco muffins, and damn. They were good!  Now, these muffins aren't going to be quite as sweet as those Costco ones, but my post workout chocolate muffins are still sweet.  So, what did I use to replace the flour and the sweetness in this baked treat? Actually, it's a common replacement in healthy baking that produces its own sugars. And gets sweeter the longer it sits. And, as soon as I tell you what it is, I bet it will be that "aha" moment of understanding why it is called a post workout chocolate muffin. 

You ready to learn my secret?

It's... wait for it...

Sweet Potato!

 Yup! Believe it or not, sweet potato, along with things like pumpkin, apple sauce, and beans are used quite often to replace flour in recipes. But what I really love about sweet potato is how sweet it can make a baked treat, and the fact that you can completely cover up the sweet potato flavor with some well-placed ingredients and spices. It's also perfect for a post workout snack because it is a slow digesting carbohydrate. This means it will take longer for your body to absorb, and will take longer for the glucose to enter your bloodstream, stabling out your blood sugar levels. Too much glucose at once, and those carbs can be stored as body fat. And I know I definitely didn't go to the gym just to gorge out on food to add body fat.  Naturally, this is the perfect type of carb to eat after a workout. Especially if you have as big a sweet tooth as I have. 

I mean, hello!

 You are eating a chocolate muffin and not even cheating! How awesome is that? This post workout chocolate muffin recipe was inspired by Chocolate Covered Katie's Pumpkin Workout Brownies. 

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Additional Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Baked, Mashed Sweet Potato

• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

• 1/2 Cup Dutch Cocoa

• 1/8 tsp Salt

• 50 grams Chocolate Protein Powder

• 1/4 Cup Sugar Free Maple Syrup

• 1 Large Egg

• Splenda Zero, Liquid Sweetener (6-15 Second Squeeze - See Notes)

• 10 Splenda Packets

• Chocolate pieces, 70-85% Cacao (optional)

• 2 TBSP Coconut Butter

• 1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda

• 1/2 tsp Double Acting Baking Powder

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl except for coconut butter, baking soda, and baking powder. (See notes on how to cook sweet potato below.)

2. Mix well, until smooth.

3. Melt coconut butter in microwave for 30-45 seconds.

4. Place coconut butter in bowl and mix until well combined.

5. Add baking soda and double acting baking powder to bowl. Mix gently until combined. Do not over mix

6. Separate batter evenly among twelve normal sized muffin cups.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Check at 15 minutes, and recheck as needed.

8. Enjoy.

Notes

• If you are in a hurry, you can microwave the sweet potato to cook through. However, it will come out a lot sweeter if you put the sweet potato in the oven at 450-500 degrees for a couple of hours. This really brings out the sweetness. The longer the sweet potato sits in the fridge, the sweeter it will get.

• I have bulk cooked sweet potato often. It holds up for a while.

• For the Splenda Zero, squeeze normally for 6 seconds. I recommend adding the additional seconds of squeezing only if you feel the batter needs to be sweeter at the end. The muffin does get sweeter the longer it sits even after it is cooked. So, I would provide a minimum of a 6 second squeeze and a maximum of 15.

• Remember, per above, the longer you leave the cooked muffin alone, the sweeter it will get.

• The coconut butter should be melted before you put the baking soda and powder in, and added at the end. It gets cold and hard quickly, and starts sticking to the sides of the bowl. So, by doing this last it will stay combined before it goes into the oven.

• Try adding some espresso or heat (cayenne, chili powder) for some additional variations to the muffin.

• Nutritional information provided includes a half of a serving of 70% cacao chocolate. It is an optional ingredient.