Aid Station muffins

As running is an excuse to eat a lot, here's a recipe. I call these Aid Station muffins because if I was a race director I'd have them at every aid station instead of snotty gels. Gels are evil and there is no sane reason to eat them, at any time. They have the consistency of nose-gunge during a particularly bad bout of flu and the taste of a prison meal from a dystopian future full of 'meal substitutes'.

Anyway, these muffins are loosely based on bran muffins from the Edmonds cookbook (one for Kiwiana fans) but with no bran and added vegetables and fruit. So almost completely different.

They have fueled me on many a long run and are apparently quite nutritious and full of energy. On a practical note, the spices make them more interesting without being so sweet that they are sickly during a run. And above all else, they are pretty foolproof.

They turn out best when made while listening to loud music (Kyuss is ideal).

Here's what you need to make about 12:

¾ cup flour (either normal or spelt)

1 cup rolled oats

1 tsp baking powder

2 carrots

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp butter

¼ cup dates (instead of dates you can use ¼ cup of poncy muscovado sugar or similar. If you omit dates, chuck raisins in)

1 tsp cinammon/allspice

¼ tsp salt

Optional: bunch of chia seeds, handful of raisins/dried apricots

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 C

Grate carrots, chop dates finely

Throw everything except eggs, milk, golden syrup and butter into a bowl. Mix it all up.

Melt butter and golden syrup together.

Throw milk, syrup mixture and eggs into the bowl as well.

Mix just enough to combine – do not overmix! It should be pretty gloopy.

Put the mixture into dainty little cupcake thingys.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (the time depends on moisture content of carrots; the muffins look brown when they're done).

Presentation is key

I usually eat a couple as soon as they are done (they are better with tea than coffee) then freeze the rest, ready to take out and stuff into a pack for a long run. By the time I need to eat one out running, they are thawed but still fresh.