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Banana Carrot Muffins
Gluten/Dairy-free/Paleo
Adapted from
DailyMeals by My Little Blue Heron
It’s back to school time, and for some, the end of summer is delicious. I haven't shared recipes for ages. I've shifted my diet from gluten and diary free to Paleo or "Palee-ish". I have a mess of famtastic recipes to share with you, and I hope to start churning them out on a regular basis (again.)
These easy and fun to make muffins will keep you happy and your pantry or
freezer stocked with a delicious and healthful grab ‘n go breakfast, snack, dessert
or teatime option. These may become your finest muffin accomplishment of the
year. They're easily mine.
I am so happy to share this recipe and some MLBH trucs! Let's get crackin'!
My Little Blue Heron trucs:
My favorite almond flour is Wellbee’s.
It’s ground super fine, and if you use almond
flour as a flour sub, it’s
worth the price. I also use and like Anthony’s
almond flour. It’s not
as super fine, but it’s excellent quality, and if you
sift it, it’s beautiful. You can buy it for a
little (but not much) less.
Buy
organic bananas. I look for smaller and rounder/plumper fruit.
Buy
organic carrots. Think about it: these are hanging out in the dirt where they could
be bathing in pesticides that will be inside of you. Organic carrots seem to taste sweeter.
Buy
the biggest, fattest ones available. For this recipe, if you can manage it, shred the
carrots by hand. That way they won’t be soggy.
I
cop to Trader Joe’s walnuts. Fresh, inexpensive and delicious.
Diamond Crystal is the best kosher salt. It doesn’t have other
stuff in it.
Use
Ceylon Cinnamon. It’s supposed to be healthier because it doesn’t contain large
amounts of coumarin. Coumarin is an anti-coagulant (If you're of un certain age, you've
heard of the drug, coumadin) and it (like it seems just about everything) can mess with
your liver.
This health warning is only if you eat cinnamon in
bulk (I do). But another good
reason is that real Ceylon cinnamon is delicious and more delicate and finer. It's sweeter
than the 'other' cinnamons. Look at the label: it should come from Sri Lanka! Don't
freak out if you're using Cassia or Korintje: you
won’t get sick. This is just the current
Maple
syrup is personal. I like mine both dark and light. It depends on what I'm using it
for. Paleo diets use NO refined sugar, so pretty much, we use maple syrup, honey, dates
and I use coconut sugar, too. Back to maple syrup: For baking, dark seems to work
very
well. Grade “B” is no longer a grade, so you'll read descriptions that say, “formerly
grade
b”. I found a wonderful Canadian brand that’s dark and delicious
called
Escuminac.
It’s
so fine. A more economical option:
NOW
brand is organic and really delicious.
By now you probably know that when a banana is beyond recognition, you should
freeze it. Remove its skin and put it into a Ziploc freezer bag and smash it up (fun). Label
how many are in the bag. Use them for baking, in smoothies, or add to your hot (or cold)
I
think buying already ground flax seed should not be your first choice. I think
buying
whole seeds and grinding them in your spice grinder is what you should do. I
keep my flax seeds (I like golden ones, but after reading about it, I don’t think there’s any
significant nutritional difference between dark or golden) in the fridge. I add them to my
smoothies and grind ‘em
in small quantities to add the ground flax to salads and cereal.
BTW: Did you ever think you'd eat linseed (in bulk)?
Make these muffins on a rainy day or when the subway is messed up (both almost any day in NYC). Make them when you have too many bananas that are overripe, or when you want your kitchen to smell like carrot cake. If you're a teacher or you work in the schools or your child is returning to school, and you want to start getting it all together for the upcoming school year, start grating your carrots.
For whatever reason you may choose to make these muffins, I hope you love making them and enjoy eating them.
 |
| Maple Syrup from Canada 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 |
Banana Carrot Muffins
Equipment:
Muffin tin (12), silicone, non-stick, or old-fashioned
muffin liners. Box grater, liquid measure cup, measuring spoons, whisk, measuring
cups, large bowls, mixing spoons, spatula, optional Vitamix, optional electric
stand or hand mixer.
Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour, finely ground, blanched
3 ripe bananas (from the freezer is great!)
3 eggs, size large, room temp.
3 medium organic carrots shredded (about 1 ½-2 cups)
¾ c. walnuts (or ‘other’ nuts of choice), chopped
2 Tbsp. flavorless oil (Canola, Grapeseed, Avocado,
Sunflower)
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon powder
¼ tsp. vanilla powder or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
¼ c. dried currents or other dried fruit of choice
(may use
fresh berries or diced apple)
2 tsp. ground flax (flax meal) or chia seeds
variation for fall!: try a combination of diced dried apples and raisins, cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg, 1/4-1/2 tsp. ground allspice .. and the leaves'll start changing as you take a bite.
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350º F. and put rack in the middle of the
oven. Prepare muffin tins.
Shred carrots and set aside.
 |
| ORANGE! |
Measure and chop walnuts and set aside.
Measure currents or ‘other’ dried or fresh fruit and set
aside.
In a LARGE bowl: Measure almond flour, flax meal, baking
soda, salt and cinnamon.
Whisk together and set aside.
 |
| a whiskit (for my daughter) |
In the container of a Vitamix (or with a hand mixer, electric
stand mixer or you can do this by hand!), mix together: banana, eggs, oil,
vinegar, vanilla powder (or extract) and maple syrup. (If doing by hand, first mash the banana and then add the rest of the
ingredients).
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix well,
until fully combined.
Fold in grated carrots.
Add walnuts and currents 'other add-ins' and mix until incorporated. (Don't be alarmed: this batter is wet!)
Fill muffin tins (they won’t rise much), and bake for 25-35
minutes, depending on size of muffin, how wet the batter, how accurate your
oven is, and how firm you want the muffin to be. If you're finding it's not firm enough, bake a little longer. This is a MOIST (but not mushy) muffin.
Remove from oven and cool on rack. As soon as you can
handle, remove from muffin tin so they won't steam.
Cool completely and enjoy! Store in fridge for up to a week.
Or, wrap in waxed paper and store in Ziploc freezer bags and pull from freezer.
This may be politically incorrect, but they nuke really well.
