Wow! That is all I can say. Maggie has a slew of recipes to scroll through on her blog Fake It ‘Til You Bake It and I’m telling you, when this little gem came up I needed to share! Now that nuts of all sorts are banned from our schools here in our district, I rarely use any nut butters around my kids, which is a mistake. These will certainly find their way into our mix of muffin treats (mine include zucchini, pumpkin and carrot!).
One of my favorite comfort foods has always been a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I won’t lie, sometimes I skipped the sandwich and ate the peanut butter and jelly straight out of the jar! I might be a nut butter addict. The only thing that would make my pb&j sandwiches better was warming them up in the toaster oven – but I have found a low calorie and healthier way to enjoy the taste of warm peanut butter and jelly! My great big PB&J muffins are only 112 calories (less calories than a tablespoon and a half of peanut butter!), packed with protein, and are a total craving crusher! Devour these warmed up, or straight out of the oven, for the ultimate experience. You will need:
2 Cans of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 Cup Sugar Free Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Nonfat Greek Yogurt
2/3 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Cup Liquid Egg Whites
1 Ripe Banana, mashed
1 Tbsp Almond Extract
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Granulated Splenda
1 1/2 Cups (150 grams) Vanilla Praline Whey (I used Designer Whey)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 Tbsp Powdered Peanut Butter or Peanut Flour (I like PB2 or Just Great Stuff brands)
56 Grams Crushed Peanuts
1 Jar Sugar Free Jam (of your favorite flavor!) 
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and either spray your muffin tins with PAM or line with muffin papers.
In a food processor or blender, combine your wet ingredients – the chickpeas, maple syrup, greek yogurt, applesauce, egg whites, banana, and the extracts. Blend everything until it is smooth. In a large mixing bowl, measure out your Splenda, whey protein, salt, baking powder and soda, and the powdered peanut butter. Whisk the dry ingredients together until everything is thoroughly combined, and then add your wet mix. Whisk briskly until everything is smooth and there are no lumps in your batter.
With a 1/2 Cup measuring scoop, portion the batter out into your muffin cups – for me, this recipe made 22 muffins. Then, take a Tablespoon of sugar free jam, and spoon it directly into the center of each of your muffins. Sprinkle the top with your crushed peanuts, dust lightly with a little salt, and then bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. The muffins will rise and envelope the jam and peanuts, making a ‘stuffed’ muffin. Place on a baking rack to cool, before storing in the fridge or freezer. Or, like I did, devouring it.
When I tasted one of these muffins, I originally was only going to eat a quarter of one, fresh from the oven. Well, a quarter turned in to a half … and half turned into the whole thing. I didn’t feel guilty though, since these are only 112 calories and are super nutritious! Enjoy guys, and as always, let me know what you think!
My name is Maggie Jasmin, and starting in January 2013, I dedicated myself to a new fitness journey, and have since lost 115 pounds. I move more, pick up heavy things, think intelligently about my food, and try to be the healthiest I can every day. This doesn't mean I gave up the foods I love – I just make them healthy! I blog and post recipes about my comfort food turned health food at 
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