Well, maybe not that evil... but muffins are evil nonetheless. For one, the dreaded muffin top. But even more importantly, muffins masquerade as a health food. They are not a health food. Many are extremely high in calories, fat and sugar.
For example, in a previous post, I gushed about the muffins at Mimi's Cafe. And while they are delicious, they are laden with calories and fat (607 calories and 35 grams of fat for the carrot raisin muffin). Even the low-fat blueberry muffin has over 400 calories and 1,000mg of sodium!
Here is another example... At Dunkin' Donuts one might assume that a muffin is a better choice than a donut, well we all know the old adage about assumptions. If you were to eat a chocolate chip muffin from DD you would consume 630 calories, 26 grams of fat and 49 grams of sugar! In comparison, a double chocolate cake donut from DD has only 340 calories, 20 grams of fat and 6 grams of sugar. The donut is the better choice!
Not all muffins are evil. One of the major reasons muffins these days are so caloric is the serving size. If you make muffins at home you can control the size and thus the number of calories. If you are not into baking, Vitalicious (of Hungy Girl fame) makes "vitamuffins" that are low in calories and fat but high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They also make vitatops and muffin mix. Although their products can be rather spendy, they are delicious and a good option if you are craving a muffin.
The moral of this post... if you want a muffin, have one. However, make sue you know how many calories you are consuming.
And just for fun, and so you know that I am not the only one who thinks that muffins are deliciously evil... here are some videos about evils muffins: