Orange Hemp Heart Muffins

Name: Orange Hemp Heart Muffins
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1/3 cup hemp hearts ((plus extra for garnish, optional)); 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2/3 cup honey; 1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt ((or coconut yogurt)); 2 eggs ((beaten)); 1 teaspoon vanilla; 3 tablespoons grated orange zest; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 cup orange juice; thin sliced orange segments for garnish ((optional))

November 4, 2019

I pulled this recipe for Orange Hemp Heart Muffins out of the archives to help fuel your family through another busy week! Lightly sweetened with honey, packed with nutritious hemp hearts and totally lunch-box friendly, these will become a new fav!

I typically make a new batch of muffins every Sunday for the week ahead. Since we almost always have over-ripe bananas in the house, I tend to use this Chocolate Banana Olive Oil Cake recipe to make muffins for the family or will often make these Sneaky Mommy Muffins (vegan option) to get extra nutrition into the kids (they are the bomb for the record).

In all honesty I completely forgot about this recipe until I was staring at some extra oranges one day trying to figure out what I wanted to do with them. They were so good, don’t ask me how they slipped my mind… for like, a couple of years haha!

Which oils to use for baking?

I get asked a lot about oils and which ones to use, and I have to say that I have been able to adapt most of my recipes to use my favourite oil: extra virgin olive oil. Now, this is all to say that I don’t only use one oil exclusively – I’m a big fan of variety (I also use a lot of avocado oil, and canola oil has a good fatty acid profile that is higher in omega-3 fats than other vegetable oils).

Coconut oil is a good choice when you’re trying to substitute for butter (as it is solid at room temperature) or in baking where it adds to the flavour; however, it isn’t a one hit wonder and I would caution against using it (or any other food for that matter) for everything! Ah, I digress. I made myself a note to write a longer post on this topic dedicated to fats.

Health benefits of hemp hearts

Hemp hearts are amazing for the fact that they are a good source of plant-based protein (over 25% of their calories are from protein) and are rich in alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat. Hemp hearts also contain gamma-linolenic acid, a special type of anti-inflammatory omega-6 fat.

Hemp hearts are also a source of Vitamin E along with a handful of minerals such as potassium and phosphorus.

Our boys LOVED these muffins! And they are a cinch to whip together. Side note: I highly recommend buying a microplane if you don’t have one already to make quick work out of zesting oranges and other citrus. I use mine nearly every day (you can also grate ginger, garlic or hard cheeses like parmesan).

If you happen to have extra apples kicking around (as can happen at this time of year) check out these Double Apple Muffins that can easily be made lunch box friendly by omitting the nuts.

Orange Hemp Heart Muffins

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