Do you ever feel like grabbing one of those ridiculously huge store-baked muffins in the morning? The other day I ran into a new bakery in the neighborhood to pick up  a coffee. They were advertised as a dairy-free and gluten-free bakery. So I tried to order a muffin, confirming they were vegan. The man behind the counter looked at me like I was crazy. “No, they all have eggs.” Oh. I guess I put eggs in the dairy category usually. Humph. So I left with a black coffee for R, and had a muffin craving that hung with  me for days.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to whip up some muffins with whatever was laying around the kitchen. These muffins are my take on a lemon poppyseed muffin. Slightly sweet, moist, and slightly seedy, these muffins are a perfect start to the day or just a great afternoon snack. I love mixing chocolate and fruit, there’s something about the tangy orange and sweet chocolate that go together so well. Made with chia seeds and whole wheat flour, I didn’t feel guilty at all while eating two or even three of these in one sitting. And they were so quick and easy to whip up, I’ll definitely be making them again and again.

This post is a two-for-one – the recipe for chocolate orange chia seed muffins, but also the reveal of the Chia Seeds Direct giveaway! The winner will be announced at the bottom of the post. First, let’s talk muffins.

What You’ll Need: (makes 9 muffins)

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 teaspoons orange zest
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I like to start by getting all the ingredients together first so that I can just mix everything all together and not worry about measuring as I’m going.

After you have everything together, mix the vinegar into the almond milk and let the milk curdle a bit while you mix all the dry ingredients together.

Then add all the wet ingredients. Make sure to mix it all well so that there aren’t any clumps of orange zest or cocoa powder hanging around in lumps.

Pour the batter into muffin tins that you’ve either greased or put paper cups inside. I prefer paper cups to make sure there is no stick and no additional oil. I also just feel like it’s more sanitary for handling. (R’s germophobe tendencies might be rubbing off on me).

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool a little bit before diving in (if you can). I liked mine with a tall glass of almond milk and a side of clementine.

And now for the winner! I ran all the folks who liked or commented on the post through the online random winner picker (this was much more efficient than my last giveaway where I just drew names out of a hat). Drumroll please….

The winner is Steph Coogan from the Grateful Grazer! Congratulations, Steph! Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment or like the post. And I hope you’ll be back for more giveaways as they come up.