Everybody Eats: Breakfast muffins fuel workout, busy morning

My morning routine has changed.

I used to wake up at 5 a.m. in order to run before getting ready for work. Then I started watching “The Walking Dead” and had to stop running in the morning because the quiet of my neighborhood in the pre-dawn hours was too similar to AMC's zombie apocalypse.

“Zombies are slow,” my husband says. So am I.

“They're fake,” he adds.

I know that. I am fully aware that they are made up - until I step outside. Luckily, my new work schedule allows me to run in the afternoon, before the kids get home.

I admit, I love sleeping until 6 a.m., but now that I'm not exercising in the morning, I'm not hungry, either. I don't want toast or cereal before I leave for work. By 9 a.m., though, my stomach is grumbling.

I tried eating a yogurt at my desk, but I was starving 30 minutes later. An apple and peanut butter wasn't much better. Sometimes I grab a bagel on my drive to work and munch on that, but buying my breakfast every morning isn't financially feasible, which is why I've been on a muffin kick.

Muffins are the perfect on-the-go breakfast food. You don't need to drown a muffin in milk, mix it with yogurt to make it edible or toast it. You can mix a batch of muffins on the weekend, seal them in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator. Voila! Breakfast is served for the next five mornings.

A friend of mine calls muffins “breakfast cupcakes.” True, some muffins are first cousins to the dessert family, but there are recipes for healthy muffins, too. This recipe for “Good Morning Muffins” from “FamilyFun” has carrots and apples - two foods that are good for you any time of day. I sometimes add crushed almonds and dried apples for an additional boost.

Bonus, these would be good for pre-workout fuel, if I'm ever brave enough to run in the mornings again.

GOOD MORNING MUFFINS

Makes: 12 muffins

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup grated apples
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line in with paper liners and set aside.

Blend the eggs, sugar, and oil until well combined. Stir in the grated apples and carrots. In a separate bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Blend dry ingredients with the apple mixture until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Source: “FamilyFun Cookbook: 250 Irresistible Recipes for You and Your Kids” by Deanna F. Cook. (Hyperion Books; 1996)