moist & delicious grain-free blueberry muffins!

When i first started venturing into "healthy" baking, I experimented with whole wheat flour (like this banana bread). since then, I've read {some of} the book wheat belly (helpful summary here) and my eyes were opened to how wheat - whether it be white or whole - is actually detrimental to our health, in a number of ways (stemming from its uncommonly high glycemic index). Yikes.. that was not an easy thing to swallow! since then, i have mostly eliminated if from my diet, with some exceptions here and there of course (um hello, I can never say goodbye to bread or pizza altogether (the real stuff)... although i am excited to use this to make my own GF crust). I'm pretty sure that eliminating it has been the biggest contributor to my losing weight and feeling a million times better (I used to feel tired frequently, esp. late afternoon, plus I would usually wake up with a tummy ache and have frequent bloating issues).

I have since discovered the wonders of almond flour... it makes amazing baked goods (and is super healthy -- win-win)!! In my opinion, it's results are FAR superior to whole wheat flour.. so much more moist and delicate! I started out with the Trader Joe's brand but recently finally splurged on Honeyville's and will never go back. It is freaking amazing. Because it is made with blanched almonds, the texture is far finer and superior to the TJ's brand. And though i know it seems crazy expensive, because it is such a large quantity, it should last you several months. also, if you sign up for their newsletter, you'll get updates about special sales (they actually just finished having a storewide 20% off sale)!

I have been making muffins like crazy lately for the hubs and I for breakfast (we love them and they stay good for a few days). Some of my favorites so far have been raspberry chocolate chip (amazeballs), pumpkin chocolate, and banana chocolate). Finally made one without chocolate, haha. Plan on trying these and these next.

GRAIN-FREE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS 

(adapted from this recipe)

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/3 cup honey
4 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or pastured butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 2-3 lemons)
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease muffin pan with coconut oil or butter or use unbleached muffin liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl use either a whisk to combine the eggs, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, baking soda, sea salt and lemon zest.
3. With a spatula, first mix in the almond flour, in batches, and then gently fold  in  and blueberries.
4. Batter will be very firm so you’ll need to use a spoon to evenly divide the batter amonst the 12 muffin cups. Place 2-3 blueberries on top and press down into the batter…just because it looks pretty!
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean and they should be a nice golden brown. 

This is a recipe I will be coming back to time and time again, for sure. I am craving them as I type this! 

my first adventure into grain-free baking.

I bought some almond meal (flour) at Trader Joe's quite some time ago; I had never heard of such a thing and was quite intrigued. Figuring it was a healthier option (and it indeed it is), I was hoping I could use it in place of whole wheat flour. But I read on the back label that you can substitute up to only half the flour a recipe calls for; that using much more than that would cause the baked good to fall apart. So then I kind of forgot about it & it sat lonely on my shelf.

Until a few days ago, when I stumbled upon a slew of grain-free baking recipes that called for it (it all started with a newly-discovered food blog - Detoxinista... I can/have spent hours on there searching recipes!) Turns out Trader Joe's is wrong about their almond flour (so wrong)... it seems to have opened up a whole new world of baking possibilities.

How is it healthy, you may be wondering? According to another great food blog, alena's pantry, it is high in protein, low in carbohydrates and low in sugars. And unlike other alternatives to wheat flour, almond flour is moist and delicious (yay for that!)

Ok, that's enough talking. On to the delicious details.

{GRAIN_FREE} PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE MUFFINS 

(adapted from Spark Recipes // makes 12) 

INGREDIENTS //

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup honey

4 Tbl melted butter (or coconut oil)

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 1/2 cups almond flour/meal (I got mine at Trader Joe's. I read that the Rob's Red Mill brand isn't fine enough & needs further grinding. You can also purchase almond flour online.)

1/2 - 1 cup dark chocolate chips (optional // you could also use nuts or raisins)

DIRECTIONS //

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a muffin pan or line with muffin liners.

2. Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a bowl except for the flour and chocolate chips (or other mix-ins of your choosing.

3. Add almond flour and mix until well combined.

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Yum, yum YUM! I was shocked at how moist and delicious these are, and hubby is obsessed. Let me know if you try it! I have a growing list of more grain-free baking recipes to try... can't wait!!