A Really Yummy Gluten Free Muffin Recipe

A friend of mine recently shared a cookbook with me called The Paleo Comfort Foods Diet by Julie and Charles Mayfield. The cookbook is visually beautiful. Each recipe is accompanied by a short explanation of where it came from with tips and hints at the bottom of each page. The right hand side is a beautiful, full page picture of the recipe.

In case you’re not familiar with the Paleo Diet, it is a diet that believes that we should be eating what our ancestors were eating during the Paleolithic period. This was the era before agriculture when we were hunters and gatherers. Basically, people following this diet eat fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and animal proteins, specifically wild and grass fed. They do not eat dairy, grains or legumes, refined salt or oils. I know, it sounds rather limiting but this cookbook shows you how to eat this way in a delicious, colorful way. You would be amazed at how well you can eat by eating these foods.

I will admit many of the recipes are lengthy. My husband joked that some of them seemed to be geared to keep him in the kitchen for a while! However, what we have found is that they are well worth the effort. Each one we’ve made has been delicious and there is usually a significant amount left over which means easy lunches for the next few days and less time in the kitchen over all!

I am sharing one of the muffin recipes with you. I have been gluten free for many years and have tried many recipes and commercial products and these are by far the best. They make for a hearty snack or a great addition to my morning egg for breakfast. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try these recipes; they are not difficult and well worth the effort to have homemade muffins. The first batch of Morning Glory muffins disappeared hot out of the oven between me, my husband and my son! And the house smelled heavenly!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do and I strongly recommend you checking out The Mayfield’s Cookbook. http://paleocomfortfoods.com/

If you would like some help in implementing a new way of eating, Paleo or Mediterranean or just doing something different, please contact me at Vicki@yourhealthystructure.com for a free 30 minute consult. I am happy to work face to face, on the phone or by skype.

I’d also like to announce that I have just joined The Parkaire Consultant Group. We are a therapy group that specializes in ADD, ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s, Bi-polar and more. I will be there 1-2 days a week. Check us out at our website: http://parkaireconsultants.com/

I will also continue my private practice and working at Talbott Recovery Campus once a week.

Morning Glory Muffins
These are gluten free, delicious with a touch of sweetness and very filling. Makes a great snack or addition to an egg for breakfast.

2 ½ cups almond flour
1 tbl. Cinnamon
1/2 teasp. salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups carrots, grated
1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup raisins
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons honey (optional)
½ cup coconut or avocado oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a standard size muffin pan (12 cups)
2. Combine almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add carrot, apple, coconut and raisins and combine well.
3. In separate bowl, whisk eggs, honey, oil and vanilla extract together.
4. Pour this mixture over your dry ingredients and mix well. This batter will be thick.
5. Sppon out into muffin pan and place on middle or upper rack for 40-50 minutes for large muffins or 20-30 for smaller ones.
6. When toothpick comes out clean, they are done.
7. Cool muffins 8-10 minutes and remove from rack to finish cooling.

Variations: Add in teasp. of orange zest. Replace raisins with cup of chopped dates. You can also make a loaf with this batter. Either one large or two smaller ones. Bake 45-60 minutes.

Tips: The smaller you can grate the apple/carrot the better. Muffins are moister if you can let the batter sit for 30-60 minutes before spooning into muffin pan.

***I have saved some money by using an electric coffee bean grinder to grind blanched almonds. Takes a little more time but it is 50% less expensive than buying the almond flour ground and packaged. I use my Cuisinart for grinding the apple and carrots and that works great. I’ve made this recipe twice now and both have yielded 18 muffins-Vicki

By Julie and Charles Mayfield
From the Gluten Free Paleo Comfort Food Cookbook