Double Chocolate Protein Muffins

I've been trying to get more protein in my diet, because I am an absolute carb-fiend--ESPECIALLY this time of year.  Even my favorite "go-to" protein sources are a little carb-heavy--I have to have fruit with my cottage cheese, and Chobani Flips (Coco Loco OMG....) while delicious, still have a TON of sugar. 

Srrsly, sOooooo good.

We’re doing a Wellness Challenge at work, so I made one of my goals “Get at least 75g of protein every day”.  After some initial struggles, I’ve fallen into a bit of a routine:
Breakfast:  hard boiled egg, cottage cheese w/fruit, skim chocolate milk (sometimes I go with shredded wheat cereal instead of the cottage cheese…I know, I know…WILD CHILD!!!)
Lunch:  typically leftovers (a protein & some veg or pasta)--like today, it's chicken parm & whole wheat spaghetti from last night
Afternoon snack: yogurt and some veggies, or some microwave kettle corn
Dinner: usually fairly balanced--protein, veg, and a starch
...which is good for tracking nutrition, but a little boring at times.  Plus, I mean...egg burps.
So I decided to skim through Pinterest and find a tasty protein-rich muffin option.  I bought some soy-based protein powder a few weeks ago...chocolate flavored.  Which is cool--so long as it's being mixed into something that is SUPPOSED to taste like chocolate. I know I could make myself protein shakes or smoothies each morning, but really, I need something I can just grab-n-go in the mornings.
Know what's supposed to taste like chocolate?  Chocolate chip muffins.

(That idea may or may not have been inspired by a trip to Sam's Club over the weekend.  Did you know their double chocolate muffins back in the deli are 680 calories a pop?  And for that splurge, you get 8g of protein and 37g of fat.)  We can still get 8g of protein--but with WAY fewer calories.
I was a little skeptical about these at first because the batter didn't taste that sweet.  Or super-chocolately.  But the final product?  AWESOMESAUCE.  Light and moist and plenty chocolately.  The cinnamon, coffee and vanilla really help the chocolate flavor pop--without adding a bunch of sugar.  I made a batch of 12 and then stuck them in a gallon Ziploc in the fridge.  Pop one in the microwave for 15 seconds, then nom while you head out the door.  Perfection for a gal like me who typically eats breakfast on the way to work or at her desk.

INGREDIENTS: (modified from the recipe here)

• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• ½ cup old fashioned oats (if you want to up the fiber, you could sub in extra oats for some of the flour)
• 1 3.9 ounce package dry pudding mix (I used Mounds--the coconut adds a nice layer of flavor)
• ⅓ cup protein powder (I used chocolate flavored--a chocolate PB would also go really well in this)
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3  cup cold coffee
• ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350F.  Then, in a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the dry ingredients.
Now beat in the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined, but don't over mix.  The batter will be slightly thick--this is okay.
Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners (easier cleanup and helps them store better in the fridge--less of the muffin is exposed to air so they won't dry out as quickly) and divide the batter evenly into the cups.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.  Should make exactly 12 muffins.
Next batch I may try integrating some Greek yogurt in place of some of the wet ingredients to bump up the protein even more!  I think there are a lot of different spins you could put on this recipe---add peanut butter, try a different type of pudding mix, add in some chopped nuts...There are tons of possibilities!



NutriFacts: (per muffin)
Calories 183.0
  Total Fat 4.1 g
  Saturated Fat 1.9 g
  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
  Monounsaturated Fat 0.4 g
  Cholesterol 31.0 mg
  Sodium 362.0 mg
  Potassium 127.2 mg
  Total Carbohydrate 29.1 g
  Dietary Fiber 1.1 g
  Sugars 14.5 g
  Protein 7.7 g