Muffin tops (the good kind)

I've never been a skinny girl. In fact, for the bulk of my childhood I was larger than I am even now. I was the token fat kid. Suffice to say any dreams of Supermodel stardom were short-lived. During high school I slimmed down a bit, and in my early twenties I was even a size ten for a while - A size I never thought I'd see again.
But, after three almost four months of resting my knee and three months of food overload, I looked in the mirror last week to discover that my muffin tops have muffin tops. And not the yummy, crunchy on the outside soft on the inside, baked treat type either.
So, in an effort to banish both layers of muffin topage from my middle I decided to start swimming with a vegeance, and stopped eating with one. The second part of that plan is the hardest to fulfill, what with my vow of eternal loyalty to chocolate and all. I put my plan into action this week and am already feeling better for the early morning swims and almost-always-good meal choices.
The hardest thing has been finding snacks that are both healthy and delicious, and ones that use the neverending supply of fresh veges Darling mother produces with her incredible green thumb. So when I came across this muffin recipe on the Australian Master Chef website I was chuffed. I know muffins aren't exactly the god of all things healthy, but they are a tasty baked treat that doesn't blow all your good eating out the window like, say KFC chips (I know, so bad...but sooooo good).
I changed the recipe slightly to accomodate my family's need for meat in everything, and also to give it a bit more flavour, and I think the paprika and bacon gives it a lovely smokey flavour that is really satisfying. I also baked mine at 180C instead of 200C because I hate that burnt-mouth taste a lot of muffins have because the flour hasn't been cooked out enough.

Savoury Zuncchini Muffins - Dotty Style
2cup self-raising flour
1cup vegetable stock
2tbsp olive oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4cup parmesan cheese, grated
1cup tasty cheese, grated
2tbsp chopped chives
1tsp mustard powder
2tsp paprika
2 medium zucchini, grated
1/2-1cup bacon, diced
1. Preheat oven to 180C and line 12-cup muffin tray. Cook off bacon until crispy and cool.
2. Combine Sifted flour, mustard powder, paprika, chives and cheese in large bowl. Add zucchini and bacon and stir well. Combine stock, oil, and eggs in jug and pour into dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
3. Spoon into muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 30mins, or until golden on top.  

Oh, and here's what they look like: