Pomegranate Muffins

Oh my! I've really done it this time. I am sharing this recipe with you now so that there can be proof these tasty little gems existed when I get up in the morning. Because, truthfully, I don't know if I'll be able to stop eating them. Crunchy crusty muffin tops resting on teasingly tender muffin bodies with the perfect proportion of sweetness. Mmm.

It started with a handy little muffin recipe that is a snap to throw together, which my family inhales. Every singe one of them loves the recipe. While it is incredibly tasty and easy, it has almost no nutritional value.

In my house, every bite counts. Gotta make every bite carry as much punch as possible. So, this is a twist on the original recipe, intended to power it up without losing any flavor appeal.

Pomegranate Muffins

1 c flour
1/4 c golden flax meal
1/4 c old fashioned oats
1/3 c white sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
1 t sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp hemp protein powder
One pomegranate
1/4 c orange juice
1/4 c safflower oil

Crush/crumble oats with your fingers and add to large bowl. Add remaining dry ingredients and whisk together. Remove seeds from pomegranate carefully, place in quart size ziplock baggie, and roll over with a rolling pin or squeeze to release juice from most of the seeds. Add entire contents- juice and seeds- to dry mixture. Add oil as well, and stir. Mixture will be stiff and somewhat dry. Add orange juice a tablespoon at a time until batter is proper consistency. Depending on how juicy your pomegranate was, you may not need the full amount of orange juice, or you may need a bit more. You can judge this, you know what a muffin batter should look like. Stir just until uniformly moist. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 400 for 25 minutes.