5 Healthy Muffin Recipes (2024)

If the only muffin top you've experienced lately is the one hanging over your jeans, it's time to dig out mom's cupcake pan. We've cooked up five recipes that provide a variety of healthy perks for less than 250 calories each. Most of the recipes use basics you probably have, like baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. As for the agave syrup and whole-wheat flour, trust us, these muffins are so tasty they're worth making a pit stop for.

Just bake a batch over the weekend and throw the extras in the freezer. Then, on weekday mornings, microwave a muffin for 30 seconds for a portable meal that'll make you a hundred times happier than cold cereal would.

Heart Guards
Prep: 10 min Cook: 25 min

These baked beauties are a cardiologist's dream food—the pectin fiber in apples, the oat bran, and the vitamin E-rich canola oil are loved by docs because together they lower both total and LDL cholesterol and keep insulin and blood sugar levels under control.

But protecting yourself against heart disease won't even cross your mind when this dessert-worthy combo of apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg hits your taste buds. Too yummy to be typecast as breakfast muffins, they can be popped anytime for a filling and satisfying bite.

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Mood Managers
Prep: 15 min Cook: 22 min

First, guys get the perk of being able to pee standing up, and now this: Men's bodies make serotonin, the chemical that kick-starts those "I'm happier than Mariah with Nick Cannon" feelings, faster than ours. Doesn't seem fair.

But these moist tropical treats will make you feel better—much better. They're stacked with nutrient-dense complex carbs, the best kinds to help your brain ramp up production of the "woo-hoo!" chemical. The omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts and flaxseed may offer additional protection against dark clouds.

"Omega-3's are nature's antidepressants," says New York City nutritionist Esther Blum, R.D. "They combat moodiness and irritability and nourish the whole nervous system."

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Engine starters
Prep: 15 min Cook: 20 min

You'll feel bouncier than Alicia Sacramone on a trampoline after eating one of these chewy, fruity oatmeal muffins. The natural sugars in the dates, prunes, and agave give you quick energy, but blood-sugar-regulating B vitamins in the oatmeal keep it flowing slow and steady so you don't spike and crash.

And if 11 a.m. typically finds you in the office kitchen scrounging for unclaimed snacks, the impressive four grams of fiber and protein-rich whey powder are your answer, says Mayo Clinic dietitian Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.

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Flu Fighters
Prep: 15 min Cook: 20 min

Protect yourself around with this spicy triple threat. Car­rots are rich in immune-boosting vitamin A, zinc-packed pumpkin seeds ward off infection, and apple juice flows with sniffle-stifling vitamin C. "If your body needs to protect itself or heal, these three vitamins are essential," Zeratsky says.

Another weapon: yogurt. Studies show that its good-for-you bacteria provide another line of defense against microbes.

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PMS Busters
Prep: 10 min Cook: 22 min

If out-of-whack hormones turn you into Ms. Hyde every month, these fluffy treats are your antidote. Bananas provide cramp-busting potassium and vitamin B6, a hormone regulator that may help reduce water retention, depression, and other PMS symptoms. And buy yogurt that delivers calcium and vitamin D: The dynamic duo has been shown to slash PMS symptoms by up to 40 percent. Add magnesium-rich walnuts to the mix, Blum says, and it's like you've taken a giant chill pill--the mineral, which may reduce irritability and stabilize blood sugar, can help you control PMS-fueled "I want to devour everything within a 20-mile radius" urges.

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