Zucchini and Date Muffins - PCOS-Friendly Recipe
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
- Cooking spray or 12 paper muffin cups
- 1/3 cup Splenda brown sugar blend
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 4 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup old fashioned, rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup chopped, pitted dates
- 2 cups zucchini, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups. Set pan aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine Splenda brown sugar blend, unsweetened applesauce, oil, egg whites and vanilla; mix well. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and dates.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add sugar (wet) mixture to dry ingredients all at once and mix well.
- Stir in zucchini. Equally portion batter among the 12 muffin cups.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
How This Recipe Supports PCOS Management
Understanding the nutritional profile of what you eat is a powerful step in managing PCOS. Here is how the key ingredients in this Zucchini and Date Muffins contribute to your health goals:
- Egg: Contain choline which supports liver function and hormone metabolism
- Oat: Supports steady blood sugar release, reducing insulin resistance
- Cinnamon: Studies show cinnamon can help lower fasting blood sugar levels in PCOS
- Zucchini: Low in calories while providing vitamin C and potassium
PCOS Diet Principles in This Recipe
The PCOS diet focuses on three core principles: reducing inflammation, managing insulin resistance, and supporting hormonal balance. Every recipe in our collection is evaluated against these principles. This recipe excels in providing protein-rich ingredients that help regulate appetite hormones (ghrelin and leptin), and anti-inflammatory spices that target the chronic inflammation underlying PCOS. As part of a balanced PCOS meal plan, we recommend pairing recipes like this with a variety of nutrient-dense foods throughout the week to ensure you are meeting all your micronutrient needs.
Meal Prep Tip: This Zucchini and Date Muffins can be prepared ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Meal prepping is one of the most effective strategies for sticking to a PCOS-friendly diet, as it removes the temptation to reach for processed convenience foods when time is short.
PCOS-Friendly Foods in This Recipe
This recipe contains the following foods that may benefit PCOS management: Cinnamon, Apples.
Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060). Apples wi...
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