Banana Almond Flour Muffins

I haven't baked in a while thanks to my new restrictions (no nuts, no eggs), but I found this recipe that I hadn't posted and figured you all probably need a fun treat. I created this muffin recipe by tweaking my banana cake and throwing the batter in muffin tins. If you are open to nuts and eggs, these muffins are awesome - only a tiny of raw honey, and they are perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast. You can add raisins, berries, nuts, or even almond butter if you want to get crazy with these. While you chow down on these, I will be brainstorming some egg-free, nut-free creations. Enjoy!

Banana Almond Flour Muffins: Serves 6, Prep time: 10 min, Bake time: 20 min

Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon 
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. cup coconut oil, softened
- 2 Tbsp. cup organic raw honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 large banana, mashed
- Optional add-ins: raisins, berries, chopped nuts, cocoa nibs, etc.

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside
3. In a separate bowl, mix coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla
4. Mix wet ingredients until fully combined and then add the mashed bananas
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl
6. Pour batter into a greased muffin tin
7. Bake for 20 minutes - tops will be lightly browned and a toothpick should come out clean
8. Let cool and then serve topped with fresh jam, honey, coconut butter, or plain!

  

Lean & Mean Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

I am officially ready for Spring! I had to pass on my daily wheatgrass routine this morning because it was only 12 degrees! I did some yoga in my warm apartment instead of braving the cold, and it was a great start to the day. I missed the morning walk but looked at this picture of my favorite part of Union Park while I sipped my tea. It may be freezing, but Boston is a gorgeous place to be. 

Last week some people (aka Mal) were weirded out by my spinach and mushroom turkey pie. It was simply a green meatloaf in a pie dish, but I know it raised a few eyebrows. I figured I'd switch it up this week and try a meatloaf muffin recipe. I had some fresh parsnips and onions from Silverbrook Farm in Dartmouth, so I threw those in with some celery and made 10 little meat muffins. They are the perfect travel meal or snack. Each muffin has about 2oz. of lean meat, and they are packed with flavor. You can switch up the veggies (think mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, or whatever you have in your fridge) and play with the herbs as well. It's almost impossible to mess these up, so be creative!

Lean & Mean Meatloaf Muffins: Serves 5, Prep time: 20 min, Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients:
- 1.2 lbs ground turkey 
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 Tbsp. italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil, rosemary, and sage)
- sea salt & pepper
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
- olive oil

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. While oven preheats, heat olive oil over medium heat
3. Add onion and garlic, and saute for 5 minutes
4. Add celery and cook for another 5 minutes
5. Add parsnips and cook for another 5 minutes
6. Mix veggies with the meat, egg, almond flour, italian seasoning, sea salt, and pepper in a bowl until thoroughly combined
7. Spoon mixture into a greased muffin tin - I made 10 muffins (about 2 oz. of meat each)
8. Bake for 30 minutes until there is no pink in the center

  

  

Paleo Pumpkin Carrot Walnut Muffins

I'm not going to lie to you. These are good. Really good. You can ask Chris - we ate them while we had a wonderful heart-to-heart around the kitchen island drinking tea yesterday. It doesn't get much better than that on a Sunday afternoon. I have to give credit to a new paleo meetup friend Anna for posting a picture of gorgeous pumpkin muffins on her facebook page Sunday morning. I tried to get her recipe, but clearly I am very impatient, so I created my own and added shredded carrots into the mix since I looove carrot muffins/bread/cake. I now love carrots even more after the nice man at the SOWA market got so amused from the way Chris and I were picking the "perfect" carrots. In other SOWA news, my favorite woman at the Westminster Meat table remembered me from last week and asked how my 5lb. chicken turned out! I was so excited to tell her that I was able to use the whole frozen chicken to make delicious soup, and it is great to see that I am becoming a regular at my neighborhood market. 

In breaking paleo news, I am hosting my first official paleo meetup in a couple of weeks. It is going to be a halloween potluck, and I have been brainstorming a few costume ideas (think grass-fed cow, hunter/gatherer, etc...). I already have a great group of people signed up, and I can't wait. It will be a wonderful thing to look forward to after I trek back up to Boston after the big Avon walk this upcoming weekend! There will be a ton of special treats at the potluck, and I'm sure my new paleo friends won't be disappointed. Stay tuned!

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups almond flour

- 1/2 cup pumpkin (I used canned organic pumpkin from Trader Joes)

- 1 cup shredded carrots

- 3 eggs

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1 tsp. baking powder

- 2 tsp. cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 Tbsp. - 1/4 cup raw honey (optional - I used 1 Tbsp.)

- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Splash of vanilla

- 1/2 chopped walnuts + 12 big pieces 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix all ingredients other than walnuts in a mixing bowl

3. Fold in chopped walnuts (reserve the 12 pieces for later)

4. Grease muffin tin (12-muffin size) with coconut oil or use silicon baking cups

5. Spoon batter evenly into muffin tin and top each muffin with a whole walnut

6. Bake for 25 minutes (fork or toothpick should come out clean)

7. Let sit for 5 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack

8. Eat with a friend, a cup of tea, or both ;)