Chocolate and orange together is a tasty combo. I actually have a similar recipe in my e-book, but I wanted to make a varied version with added protein. It came out a big success!  These are great for on the go, but I do recommend re-heating them after they’ve been in the fridge. Then the chocolate chips all melty and crazy good just like when they’re fresh out of the oven.

Chocolate Orange Protein Muffins

Makes 18 muffins

1 1/2 cups oat flour (make your own by grinding quick or old fashioned oats in your blender/food processor)
1/2 cup stevia baking formula (or 10-12 packets of stevia) *or your favorite sweetener
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate flavored whey protein (I used Whey Gourmet Naturelle Chocolate)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (juice from approx 1 medium orange)
2 tsp orange zest (from approx. 1 orange)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 egg whites (1/4 cup plus 2Tbsp carton kind)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In one large bowl, sift together dry ingredients (oat flour, stevia, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt).  You will be left with a bunch of oat grain in the sieve after. Dump that in the bowl after. You’re sifting mainly to break up the clumps of the cocoa powder.

Next, to the dry ingredients, add in the chocolate chips, stir.

Then add in all your wet ingredients to the same bowl (orange zest, almond milk, orange juice, applesauce, egg white). Stir until blended.

Place batter into a muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray or lined with liners until 2/3 full (I love these Reynolds non-stick liners).  Bake for 11-15 minutes or until the muffins are just firm on top and a toothpick comes clean.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. After being in the fridge, they tend to dry out, so to make them fresh-out-of-the-oven again by microwave or re-heating each muffin for 15-20 seconds.

Nutrition (per muffins)   Calories: 78   Fat: 2g   Carbs: 11.5g   Fiber: 3g   Sugars: 2.6g   Sodium: 174mg   Protein: 5g