Morning Glory Muffins

adapted from Barefoot Contessa

I love to bake and am a serial recipe follower. Mike needed something to nosh on at work and so I make him these morning glory muffins (the Ina Garten version). But it’s slowly evolved (needed it to be healthier) and (I can’t believe I’m sharing a recipe on IG) here goes:

heat oven to 350 degrees
1 C vegetable oil (or coconut or olive)
4 eggs (or 3 if large)
2 t vanilla extract
(whisk above ingredients in large bowl)
3 C grated carrots (unpeeled)
2 C grated apples (unpeeled)
1/2 C pineapple chopped plus splash juice if using from can (pineapple optional)
1/2 - 3/4 C sugar (use 1/2 C if using pineapple + juice, or even less)
1/2 C chia seeds
1 C chopped pecans
1 C chopped dates
1/2 C shredded, unsweetened coconut
(add above ingredients to bowl and mix together with wood spoon)
2 1/4 C whole wheat flour
2 t baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1 t kosher salt
(whisk above in separate bowl, then stir into large bowl with rest of ingredients)
scoop into lightly oiled cupcake tins (about 18)
bake for 30-35 min.