Vegan, Paleo
Who doesn’t love a muffin? This one can be a quick breakfast, a snack, or lovely addition to your child’s lunch. I kept it vegan below, but you could add ½ cup of collagen to add some wholesome protein to it. I prefer my muffins less sweet, so if you have a sweet tooth, you can adjust the sweetener below.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (60 g) coconut oil or grapeseed oil
- 1 cup (230 ml) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon mixed Pumpkin pie spice (or a mixture of ½ tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp cloves)
- Pinch of sea salt
- 4 oz (125 g) grated carrot (1 large sized carrot) (grate by hand or use the shredder on your food processor)
- ⅔ cup (100 g) dried cranberries (without sugar or sulfur) or substitute with raisins (sultanas) or chopped dates
- ¼ cup (30 g) walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons desiccated dried coconut, shredded or strips
- 1 ¼ cup (150 g) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 1 ¼ cup (150 g) gluten-free flour blend: I use ½ cup coconut flour, ½ cup oat flour, ¼ cup arrow root or sweet rice flour (different from regular rice flour). You could also substitute one of the flours above with buckwheat flour for a more wholesome muffin.
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda aka sodium bicarbonate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius)
- Place the coconut oil in a saucepan and melt on low unless you live in a warm climate and it’s already liquified.
- Once melted, add the milk alternative to a large mixing bowl along with the lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla, ginger, spices, salt, grated carrot, raisins, walnuts/pecans, desiccated coconut and ground almonds.
- Add the flours, baking powder and baking soda.
- Mix well. You can add a tiny splash of alternative milk if it’s looking too dry.
- Scoop the mixture equally into muffin tin.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until risen and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
To Decorate (you pick your favorite)
- Coconut flakes sprinkled on top or my famous “coconut-make-a-you-crazy-for-me-cream” frosting: https://kristingraycemcgary.com/coconut-make-a-you-crazy-for-me-cream/
- Or Crushed walnuts or pecans
- Or a few oat flakes
- Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for a few days. These freeze well, thaw and heat before serving.
Buen Provecho!