Morning Muffin Glory
For the past week I've been testing recipes from another library find, Real Food, Real Simple, by Taylor Riggs. This book is becoming a fast favorite of mine, and many of her creations are along the lines of recipes I've enjoyed by Dani Spies.
The book is handy for those following a Paleo or gluten free diet, and also works for people like me who just want to focus on clean eating, and reduce the amount of flour and sugar in their diet. Thus far I've discovered that parsnips are something I can get used to eating, and that almond flour scones could absolutely replace biscuits without me feeling deprived. Riggs also has the best almond flour pancake recipe out there--and I've tried a slew of them!
Her muffin recipes have not only become a household favorite, they've also inspired me to branch out and find different flavor combinations of my own. I never would have dreamed that bananas, eggs, and nut butters mixed together could produce light, fluffy, delicious baking magic!
My personal creations have mostly been out of necessity, because I'm too lazy (and too cheap) to venture out of my house to gather all the necessary recipe ingredients. Although, once I discovered what could be done with a banana, I did drive into town to purchase two large bunches. These muffins are so good, and so quick to make, that I didn't like the idea of being without the bananas to make them.
Clean eating (eating only food found in nature with little to no industrial processing) can be more expensive than eating processed foods in many ways. However, bananas and eggs are relatively inexpensive, so that leaves room for things like almond, peanut, and other natural nut butters in my grocery budget.
The cost of those nut butters can sometimes make me think twice about how often I can actually make muffins, since a 12 oz. jar usually runs anywhere from $5 to $9 (depending on the brand and type of nut butter). But I just remind myself that even if I were only getting two uses out of one jar, I'm still able to feed three people a meal for under $4. And it is better quality food than sugar laden cereals, or other heavily processed items.
Everything in life is about balance and perspective.
So this is my take on Riggs' Carrot Cake Muffin. She puts cardamon and ginger in her's, and I didn't have those spices. And for some reason I felt very strongly that I should put flax seed meal in mine. I don't know why I did (probably because I had some handy), but it certainly didn't hurt to do so.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place 10 liners in a muffin pan. Combine the bananas, honey, almond butter, and shredded carrots in a bowl, stirring until well incorporated. Then add coconut flour, flax seed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Beat with hand mixer until the batter is well combined. (Note: remember you are not working with flour, so you do not have to worry about over mixing this like you would with a conventional muffin mix, and the more air you incorporate into the batter the fluffier your end result will be.) Then fill the muffin cups as evenly as you can, filling each almost to the top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once out of the oven, remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack. (If you don't, you'll get a little moisture form around the outside bottom of the muffin liners.)
You can eat them right away, or enjoy them after they've cooled. Put leftovers in an air tight container. I'm not sure how long they will keep, because I've never had any last past the next morning!
It amuses me that I've been a picky eater most of my life, but something about being in my 40s has changed the way food tastes to me. And finding out that veggies can be effortlessly hidden in bake goods has been a God send!
So I created this recipe to help meet my need for chocolate, while also ensuring that I'm getting a serving of vegetables. At least that is what I'm telling myself ...
Prehead oven to 350 degrees, and line all 12 cups of a muffin tin (or grease really, really well). With a hand mixer (or good ol' fashioned elbow grease) beat the bananas, eggs, almond butter, honey, vanilla, and zucchini until well combined. Then add the coco powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well incorporated. Then fold in the chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cup with approximately 1/4 cup of batter, then use remaining batter to go back and fill each cup until almost full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and let them cool on a rack.
You will not be able to tell zucchini is even in this mixture once it is baked, and if you want to be super healthy add two tablespoons of ground flaxseed. Actually, the ways you could modify this recipe are endless!
Both muffins are so soft, moist, and delicious that my husband keeps referring to them as "cupcakes." I think that is probably because of the baking paper I use, but it could also be because it really feels like you are eating a piece of cake made with flour! However, neither product is overly sweet.
Bananas, nut butter, and eggs... who knew!
I'm in love with these recipes so much that I've decided that April will be "Muffin Month." So be on the lookout for more combinations.
Now, if you will excuse me, I'm off to play with more food.
The book is handy for those following a Paleo or gluten free diet, and also works for people like me who just want to focus on clean eating, and reduce the amount of flour and sugar in their diet. Thus far I've discovered that parsnips are something I can get used to eating, and that almond flour scones could absolutely replace biscuits without me feeling deprived. Riggs also has the best almond flour pancake recipe out there--and I've tried a slew of them!
Her muffin recipes have not only become a household favorite, they've also inspired me to branch out and find different flavor combinations of my own. I never would have dreamed that bananas, eggs, and nut butters mixed together could produce light, fluffy, delicious baking magic!
My personal creations have mostly been out of necessity, because I'm too lazy (and too cheap) to venture out of my house to gather all the necessary recipe ingredients. Although, once I discovered what could be done with a banana, I did drive into town to purchase two large bunches. These muffins are so good, and so quick to make, that I didn't like the idea of being without the bananas to make them.
Clean eating (eating only food found in nature with little to no industrial processing) can be more expensive than eating processed foods in many ways. However, bananas and eggs are relatively inexpensive, so that leaves room for things like almond, peanut, and other natural nut butters in my grocery budget.
The cost of those nut butters can sometimes make me think twice about how often I can actually make muffins, since a 12 oz. jar usually runs anywhere from $5 to $9 (depending on the brand and type of nut butter). But I just remind myself that even if I were only getting two uses out of one jar, I'm still able to feed three people a meal for under $4. And it is better quality food than sugar laden cereals, or other heavily processed items.
Everything in life is about balance and perspective.
So this is my take on Riggs' Carrot Cake Muffin. She puts cardamon and ginger in her's, and I didn't have those spices. And for some reason I felt very strongly that I should put flax seed meal in mine. I don't know why I did (probably because I had some handy), but it certainly didn't hurt to do so.
Carrot Cake Muffins
2 large bananas mashed
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of almond butter,
1 large carrot, finely shredded
2 large eggs,
1/4 cup of coconut flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place 10 liners in a muffin pan. Combine the bananas, honey, almond butter, and shredded carrots in a bowl, stirring until well incorporated. Then add coconut flour, flax seed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Beat with hand mixer until the batter is well combined. (Note: remember you are not working with flour, so you do not have to worry about over mixing this like you would with a conventional muffin mix, and the more air you incorporate into the batter the fluffier your end result will be.) Then fill the muffin cups as evenly as you can, filling each almost to the top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once out of the oven, remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack. (If you don't, you'll get a little moisture form around the outside bottom of the muffin liners.)
You can eat them right away, or enjoy them after they've cooled. Put leftovers in an air tight container. I'm not sure how long they will keep, because I've never had any last past the next morning!
It amuses me that I've been a picky eater most of my life, but something about being in my 40s has changed the way food tastes to me. And finding out that veggies can be effortlessly hidden in bake goods has been a God send!
So I created this recipe to help meet my need for chocolate, while also ensuring that I'm getting a serving of vegetables. At least that is what I'm telling myself ...
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
2 large bananas, mashed (medium size works too)
2 large eggs
1 cup almond butter
1/3 cup finely shredded zucchini, with water squeezed out (approximately one small zucchini)
2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup coco powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (use dark chocolate for additional health benefits)
Prehead oven to 350 degrees, and line all 12 cups of a muffin tin (or grease really, really well). With a hand mixer (or good ol' fashioned elbow grease) beat the bananas, eggs, almond butter, honey, vanilla, and zucchini until well combined. Then add the coco powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well incorporated. Then fold in the chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cup with approximately 1/4 cup of batter, then use remaining batter to go back and fill each cup until almost full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and let them cool on a rack.
You will not be able to tell zucchini is even in this mixture once it is baked, and if you want to be super healthy add two tablespoons of ground flaxseed. Actually, the ways you could modify this recipe are endless!
Both muffins are so soft, moist, and delicious that my husband keeps referring to them as "cupcakes." I think that is probably because of the baking paper I use, but it could also be because it really feels like you are eating a piece of cake made with flour! However, neither product is overly sweet.
Bananas, nut butter, and eggs... who knew!
I'm in love with these recipes so much that I've decided that April will be "Muffin Month." So be on the lookout for more combinations.
Now, if you will excuse me, I'm off to play with more food.
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