Ginger-Carrot Muffins

This recipe comes from the August 2007 issue of Cooking Light magazine. I made a few small changes, using fat free milk instead of 1% and raisins instead of currants. Also I only had 3 carrots which turned into 2 cups when grated and you can see they are definitely full of carrots, so don't give up if you don't have enough for the full three cups. The recipe still made 18 muffins even without the extra cup of grated carrot. When I make these again I would like to add some fresh grated ginger for even more ginger flavor. They were still delicious and they freeze well.

Ginger-Carrot Muffins

Makes 18 Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 oz.)

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup 1% lowfat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

3 cups grated carrot (about 6 medium)

1/2 cup dried currants

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place 18 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups and coat liners with cooking spray.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in the center of mixture. Combine sour cream and next 5 ingredients (through egg), stirring well with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Add carrot, currants, and pecans; stir just until combined.
• Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center. Remove muffins from pans immediately and place on a wire rack to cool.

These are 143 calories each according to Cooking Light. If you make them exactly as I did, they turn out to be 135 calories per muffin.

In other news, Baby Cookie is coming along just fine. I feel great most days and most of the time all I can think about is when I'll finally get to hold my sweet little baby. Only 8 weeks until my due date! I'm starting to feel the pressure of really needing to get things done. About every other week I spend a couple days cleaning and organizing like a maniac, then I get tired and have to take a break from it for a while. I have this fear that I'll have to bring the baby home to a dirty/disorganized house and then I'll never get ahead (most people think my house is always clean but I can be a little OCD at times)! At least now I'm at the point where there isn't really much left I can organize and I just have to keep up with the routine cleaning and laundry. I've started making a list of foods I can make and freeze for later. It won't take much to fill up my dinky little freezer, but my goal is to have enough food on hand that requires minimal preparation so it won't be necessary to cook or shop for food for at least two weeks after the baby is born. Today I made a double batch of banana bread from a new recipe I'll have to share later. I hope everyone is having a great summer! It seems like time is just flying by for me.