If you listen closely while these muffins are cooling, you can hear a barely audible, “Squaaaawk.”
Just kidding. No parrots were harmed in the making of these muffins. (But some pears and carrots sure were)

If you have a toddler, you know just how tricky it can be to find something that sits perfectly within the Venn diagram of healthy (enough) and picky-eater approved. I like to make different kinds of fruit & veggie muffins and freeze them so that I always have a variety on hand whenever my picky-eater decides the thing she LOVED yesterday is now her least favorite thing ever and how could I have offered it to her?!?

Allow these healthy-ish Pearott muffins to relieve a little bit of that stress. They’re SO stinking delicious and have just enough fresh pears & carrots to make you feel good about letting your toddler go to town on them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup old fashioned oats

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour OR ½ cup Young Living’s Einkhorn flour & ½ cup white whole wheat flour

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar

• 1 egg beaten

• ¼ cup coconut oil (or any neutral-tasting oil)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup fresh diced pears, washed & peeled (about 2 small pears)

• ½ cup finely grated carrot, washed & peeled (about 1 large carrot)

Instructions

1. Wash & peel pears and carrots. Chop pears into very small cubes, around ¼” and finely grate carrots. Using a clean towel, wrap grated carrot & squeeze out most of the moisture. Set aside with pears for later.

2. Preheat oven to 350. Line your muffin tin with silicone liners or spray lightly with oil.

3. In a large bowl, combine oats and milk and set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

5. Stir the oil, egg, brown sugar and vanilla into the oats & milk. Add dry ingredients and stir until combined, then gently fold in the pears & carrots.

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.

7. Bake muffins for 10-13 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool & enjoy fresh or freeze for up to 3 months.

Tip: to reheat quickly from frozen, remove liner and wrap in a paper towel. Heat on ‘defrost’ for 15 seconds, flip over, then for another 15 seconds or until middle is no longer frozen.

Recipe adapted from Marisa Moore Nutrition