Cue the Oprah voice:  You. will. LOOOVE THESE MUFFIIIIINS!!!

I’m so excited about this recipe for a few reasons.

• It’s based on leftovers I found in the fridge, like quinoa and sweet potatoes
• They turned out perfect, after one try (don’t you love that?)
• They’re absolutely delicious, filling and have some real staying power

Promise me you’ll make them! Or don’t. Friends off forever. But hopefully that convincing Oprah voice did the trick.

Sweet Potato Muffins
Makes approximately 8 regular sized muffins. I made 18 minis. The nice thing about using sweet potatoes or yams is they add natural sweetness and moisture to baking, without overpowering the recipe with a distinct flavor.

Note: These are actually yams, but for some reason, grocery stores and some food companies label yams as sweet potatoes. To make it less confusing for people shopping for ingredients – go with the orange variety.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly coat a muffin tin with oil/butter/cooking spray

In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients:

1 1/4 cup buckwheat flour (or spelt/all purpose)
1/2 cup rolled oats or flakes
1/4 cup raisins
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tbsp hemp seeds (for a little crunch)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a separate bowl, mix together:

1 cup mashed sweet potato (cooked)
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup maple syrup (or agave)
2 tbsp palm sugar (or cane)
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

Add dry to wet, fill muffin tins and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I immediately ate a couple muffins (actually, it was probably more like five) topped with almond butter as a pre-dinner snack. Then, as I was cleaning up my dinner mess, I was about to put away the goat cheese when a strange idea entered my mind.

Creamy, goat cheese + sweet potato muffin = healthy frosted carrot cake.

It was a strange phenomenon that just…. worked.