Carrot Cake PROTEIN Muffins

​Carrot Cake PROTEIN Muffins
 
This recipe makes 14 muffins that are nearly 12g protein each! If you add the yummy cream cheese frosting with pecans you are adding more protein to that extra sweetness!
PREP TIME:  22 minutes       COOK TIME:  30 minutes        OVEN TEMP:  350°
 
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cup protein powder (I used Earth Chimp-vanilla)
½ cup almond flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp xanthum gum
3 TBP hemp seeds
3 cup carrots, shredded (about 4 large carrots)
1 cup maple syrup
5 eggs, room temp
½ cup extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil)
½ cup milk (I used lactaid milk because the intention for this muffin wasn’t with frosting making it dairy-free. But, I had to give options-wink)
 
OPTIONAL Cream Cheese Frosting
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz cream cheese (1/3 fat)
½ cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cinnamon
½ cup pecan, chopped
*Mix all the ingredients without the nuts until smooth, then add the pecan and mix until blended.
 
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix all the first 7 (dry) ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add hemp seeds, carrots, eggs, maple syrup, oil, and milk and mix until well blended.
3. Place the batter into your muffins pan. (I like to use the silicon muffin/cupcake pan.)
4.Place in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
5. OPTIONAL Frosting instructions under the ingredients.
NOTES:
*Each muffin is nearly 12g of protein. You can easily add 1cup of chopped pecans to the batter for an additional .7g of protein per muffin. The frosting will add an additional 1- 1.3g protein per muffin but it will also add more sweetness.