Tiago Fragoso is a talented food blogger with a passion for teaching and leading a healthy lifestyle.  Growing up in Portugal his mother was a chef so food was always a big part of his existence.  Now through his Instagram blog – @thehealthybeard, Tiago aims to inspire and show others that leading a vegetarian diet is far from limited, even in January! These magic muffins are a must to get through the January blues and show that cranberries are not just for Christmas!

CHOCOLATE, ORANGE AND CRANBERRY MUFFINS

This vegetarian recipe makes 6 large muffins.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 eggs
• Zest and juice from 2 oranges
• 80ml almond milk
• 100ml agave nectar
• 100ml olive oil
• 250g whole-wheat self-raising flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of Himalayan salt
• 75g dried cranberries
• 75 MIA candied orange chocolate (chopped)
• 30g MIA 100% cacao melted for drizzle

METHOD

1. Begin by pre-heating the oven to 180C degrees.
2. Separate the eggs by putting the egg yolks in a large bowl and the egg whites in a separate large bowl – whisk the egg whites using an electric whisker (or hand-held) until fluffy, then set aside.
3. Pour the orange zest and juice, almond milk, agave nectar and olive oil over the egg yolks and mix to combine the wet ingredients together.
4. Sieve the flour along with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt over the wet ingredients and stir to combine the dry and wet ingredients together.
5. Pour in the egg whites, and gently fold to form the batter for the muffins – do not over fold, then add the chopped chocolate orange pieces and dried cranberries and gently mix.
6. Grease some deep muffins tins and pour the batter evenly, place in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool, then remove and place them on a wire rack to cool further.
8. Once the muffins have cooled completely, melt approximately 30g of 100% chocolate and drizzle over the muffins.