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Grain Free Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins

In case you haven’t heard, it’s been quite hot in Southern California. I’m talking sleep with all the windows open, don’t want to turn on the oven hot. We finally got a couple of days with cool(er) temperatures, and I used the opportunity to finally light my pumpkin candle and whip up some grain free pumpkin zucchini muffins.

Even though pumpkin recipes have been popping up all over the web since August, and pumpkin spice lattes have been available for weeks now (really Starbucks?), I always try to wait and bust out the pumpkin until the weather starts to give a hint of fall, and then it’s all pumpkin, all the time. So consider these grain free pumpkin zucchini muffins a taste of what’s to come over the next few months.

The inspiration for these muffins came from Balanced Bites’ Carrot Pumpkin Spice Muffins, only I used a combo of eggs and egg whites, and swapped carrots for zucchini instead.

At first I wasn’t sure how the zucchini-pumpkin combo would pan out, but I was pleasantly surprised! These muffins also have just a small touch of sweetness from the maple syrup (the good stuff from Canada since we know it tastes better), and contain minimal ingredients.

Grain Free Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup canned pumpkin

2 cups shredded zucchini

3 eggs

3 egg whites

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F.

In a small mixing bowl whisk your eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, maple syrup and water until well blended. Gently fold in your coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Mix well.

Gently spoon your batter into paper-lined muffin tins and place in the oven for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven, cool and enjoy! They are the perfect breakfast/snack/anytime treat.

What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Coconut Lemon Protein Muffins

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I’ve been on the hunt for a good protein powder for some time now. Most of the ones I have found either have corn or soy (or both), or use a lot of artificial sweeteners which I’m just not a fan of. But fortunately, the girls behind Tone It Up have a Perfect Fit Protein that’s made with brown rice and stevia and free of all other allergens. I was so excited to finally find a protein powder I could have that I whipped up a batch of Coconut Lemon Protein Muffins.

The best part of these muffins is the stats. Each muffin clocks in at 126 calories and has 6 grams of protein and 8 grams of fat which makes them the perfect snack. I had a really early meeting at work this week, so I packed a couple of these muffins along with some PB and it made a great breakfast on the go.

This recipe is actually adapted from the Tone It Up Blueberry Zest Muffins, but I didn’t have any blueberries on hand right at that moment so I swapped them for coconut and they still came out great. I think next time I’ll have to try chocolate coconut ones!

Coconut Lemon Protein Muffins (adapted from Tone It Up)

Makes 6 muffins

Ingredients:

1 packet Perfect Fit Protein Powder

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Line 6 muffin tins with paper liners.

In a small bowl mix your protein powder, coconut flour, baking powder and salt. Be sure to whisk your coconut flour and protein powder well to ensure there are no clumps.

Add your lemon juice, eggs, melted coconut oil and shredded coconut to your mixture and continue to mix until well blended. The batter will be a bit thick.

Pour your mixture into the 6 muffin tins and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy your protein packed muffin!

Any other protein powder recipes? I’ve already made some tasty smoothies and want to make protein pancakes next!

Cocoa Banana Muffins

3 Replies

I’m in this weird phase where I only enjoy bananas in baked good form, which is odd considering I used to have a banana on top of my oatmeal every single morning. We haven’t been buying bananas much lately, but the Englishman recently bought a bunch while I was in San Diego for work. As soon as I returned, I promptly began brainstorming ways to incorporate them into a baked good, and came up with Cocoa Banana Muffins.

To be honest, Nigella Lawson came up with cocoa banana muffins and I just took her recipe and modified it a bit. And since Nigella is the queen of all things chocolate in my book, I knew these muffins would be good and they were. I even took it a step further with the chocolate-ness and added some extra chocolate chips to the batter, so each bite had an extra chocolate punch. Oh yes.

So the moral of this story is if you have a bunch of bananas sitting on your counter make cocoa banana muffins, And if chocolate isn’t your thing, make banana spelt muffins. Or just slather a banana in peanut butter if that strikes your fancy.

Cocoa Banana Muffins (inspired from this recipe)

*Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup spelt flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.

Mash your bananas in a small bowl and add your eggs, sugar and oil. Continue to mix well.

In a larger bowl add your flours, baking soda and cocoa powder. Fold your wet mixture into the dry and continue to mix. *Note: I used a stand mixer for this, but you can use a hand mixer or good ol’ elbow grease.

Gently scoop your batter into the muffin tins to about 1/4 full. Sprinkle some chocolate chips into each muffin cup and then top with the remaining batter.

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove and cool before digging in!

If you really want to make these muffins out of this world, top them with peanut butter. PB + Chocolate + Banana = perfection.

What’s your favorite banana recipe?

Quinoa Almond Muffins

4 Replies

Lately I’ve been into experimenting with different kinds of flour. First there was almond flour, then I found a way to use coconut flour, and now I’ve stumbled upon quinoa flour. Since I’m a big quinoa fan, I figured I’d love baking with the flour as well. For my first run with the quinoa flour, I kept it simple and created Quinoa Almond Muffins.

First things first, these muffins definitely have a strong quinoa flavor, so if quinoa is not your thing, I recommend trying a different flour such as whole wheat instead. Second, I view this recipe to be more of a “base” with ample opportunity for add-ins such as bananas, pumpkin, chocolate, you get the idea.

I love that these muffins are low in fat and sugar, and are perfect for anyone with wheat, soy or corn allergies. Again, I definitely recommend adding some stuff to these muffins such as fruit, nuts, goji berries, the sky’s the limit!

Quinoa Almond Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup almond milk
3 tbsp coconut oil
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin pan or use muffin liners.

In a medium-sized bowl mix your quinoa and almond flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until well blended. In a smaller bowl, mix your coconut oil, egg whites, maple syrup, almond milk and water. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture and continue to blend until the batter is wet and sticky.

Gently place spoonfuls of batter into the muffin tins (be careful not to fill too high) and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool. These muffins taste the best on the day they are baked but also freeze well.

Sweet Potato Bites

Good Eats with a Healthy Twist!

Tag Archives: muffins

Grain Free Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins

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Coconut Lemon Protein Muffins

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Cocoa Banana Muffins

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Quinoa Almond Muffins

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