Preheat your oven to 350 ℉ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners. Set aside
Combine flax meal and water in a small bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes to let it "gel". This will form a "flax egg" and work as a binding agent in the muffins.
After the "flax egg" has has a chance to gel, add it to a blender along with the maple syrup/ date syrup, banana, lentils, oil, vinegar, almond milk, and vanilla.
Blend until mixture is smooth.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and process until just mixed. DO NOT over mix. Over-mixing can result in dense muffins. If you aren't sure your blender can handle the dry ingredients, dump the blender contents into a bowl with dry ingredients and mix by hand.
Finally, fold in grated carrots and chocolate chips (if using).
Portion batter into prepared muffin tin and top with extra chocolate chips if desired.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy and let cool completely and store leftovers in an air-tight container in fridge or freezer.
