Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

I've been scouring the internet lately looking for healthier alternatives to things that I really love.  I prefer to think of our new lifestyle changes as getting healthy rather than dieting.  With that being said, life is short, and food is good.  I don't want to give up all of the good things (that might also be bad for me), and I certainly don't like the idea of denying myself something that I really want or crave!

I don't do well with breakfasts like eggs.  I'd rather eat an omlet or scrambled eggs for lunch or dinner.  It takes me FOREVER to eat cereal in the morning for some reason, and it can also be time consuming to drink breakfast in the form of a shake.  Muffins sounded like a good idea, and so I Googled "healthy muffin recipes" and found this one.  I thought this would be a good breakfast option for me.  I share how it went for me below. 

And now, I bring you......

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. warm water
• 1/4 olive oil
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 c. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 400* F.
2.Spoon flour into measuring cups and level with a knife. 
3. Using a whisk, combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In another bowl, combine water, olive oil, red wine vinegar, vanilla extract, & egg. 
5. Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and add 1/4 c. of the mini chocolate chips.  Stir until just moist.

6. Place cup liners in muffin pan, and spray with cooking spray.  Divide batter evenly among cups.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 c. of mini chocolate chips on top of the batter.

 

Turns out I only had 9 liners left... :)  They all came out just fine.

7. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

 

 I was glad to discover that these were pretty good.  According to the website, the serving size is 1 muffin, and each muffin has 191 calories.  They aren't as sweet as you might expect with all of that chocolate, but do keep in mind that brown sugar is the only sugar used, and the cocoa is unsweetened.

Overall, I'm pretty happy to have these as an option for breakfast or a snack for a bit.  :)