Blueberry Lemon Muffins: Practical Paleo

I haven't been able to blog about my cooking adventures in a really long time, but I finally made something so delicious and paired with enough time to rave about it that I had to take this chance while I had it!  Among needing to eat gluten-free because I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (not Celiacs/Celiac’s) in Aug of 2010, the sous chef and I have also decided towards the beginning of this summer to embark on a Whole30 journey. 

Now, side note, if you decide that Whole30 is something you want to try, I highly encourage and, let’s face it, push you to read It Starts With Food.  No excuse; you should be able to read the tangible version or read on your mobile device (whatever that may be).

Anyway, as the two of us come off of this (second) Whole30, it’s part of the journey to begin adding certain foods back in to your diet to see how those foods affect you.  Because I strongly feel that I have certain specific foods that ail me beyond gluten, I’m taking this super slow and adding in one food item a day rather than a group of foods (i.e. grains).  Nevertheless, on the day that I made these delicious muffins, I was adding maple syrup back into my diet (I told you! Specific!).  Personally, I don’t think it matters if you are on a diet of any kind or not!!!  These muffins are amazing!!!  It certainly helps matters that they are gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo-friendly!

This recipe was made exactly as the recipe specifies from Practical Paleo.  Shameless Thank You to our friends Kevin and Melissa for getting this book for us!!!

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted (Krista Kooks used butter.)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup grade B maple syrup (I used 100% pure maple syrup)
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (Krista Kooks used frozen, and thawed them slightly under cold running water before adding them to the batter.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the eggs, butter or coconut oil (remember, this should be melted), pure vanilla extract, maple syrup, and lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a large mixing bowl.  It works well to use a stand mixer fitted with your whisk attachment.  Sift in the coconut flour, sea salt, and baking soda and stir until well combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

In a muffin tin, scoop 1/4 cup of the batter into each lined muffin cup (natural parchment muffin papers work best for lining), and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Krista Kooks used a silicone muffin pan which was lightly greased.

Gluten Free Banana Nut Muffins

While I’ve never personally made banana ANYTHING, I have tasted many banana breads and muffins in my time.  That said, not a single one of them compares to this fabulous recipe; this is by far the best recipe I’ve EVER tasted!!!  It’s great that it’s gluten free, too ;)

I thought that it would be best for me to freeze all but the few mini muffins I made.  Well, that didn’t really do me any good.  I didn’t need to freeze them.  I still consumed them all within one week.  Ooops :/

Moral of the story: MAKE THESE MUFFINS! :)

Ingredients

2 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 cups extra finely ground brown rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch (not potato flour), 1/3 cup tapioca starch/flour. It is very important that you use an extra finely ground brown rice flour, (and not just any grind) or the muffins will be gritty and heavy.

2/3 cup coconut sugar (granulated white sugar also works)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 packed cup very ripe chopped banana  (about 2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (or almond milk/milk substitute of your choice)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (substitutions include canola oil or coconut oil)
Granulated sugar for garnish, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Position rack in center of oven. Grease muffin pan with cooking spray (or three 5 x 3 -inch loaf pans).

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Add bananas and walnuts; stir to coat evenly.

Combine milk and oil in small bowl; remove 1 tablespoon of combined liquid and discard it. Beat in eggs. Add liquids to banana mixture and stir until just blended.

Fill muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake 18–25 minutes until golden brown (35–44 minutes for loaf pans). Remove from pan and serve immediately or cool on a rack.

Note: 

1. Krista Kooks much prefers coconut sugar for this recipe!  
2. Consider tossing in 1/2 tsp of allspice or nutmeg as well.  
3. Haven't tried this with flaxseed meal in place of the egg yet, but I'll try again soon!
4. Applesauce works the best in comparison to the canola oil or coconut oil.  Both subs work, but they just aren't the same.

Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato Corn Muffin

Gluten-Free notes at the bottom of this post.

I bookmarked this recipe way back in January, but I had yet to get around to making it.  Well, I finally did, and these were fabulous!!!  My bosses both loved them, and, of course, the sous chef did, too :)  These would be a GREAT side to your tomato pasta dish.

Ingredients

2 (8 1/2-ounce) packages corn muffin mix
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
3 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes (from an 8-ounce jar)
2/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 2 muffin tins.

In a large bowl combine the muffin mix, corn, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir to combine.

In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and eggs until well blended. Add the buttermilk mixture to the muffin mix. Stir to combine. Spoon the mix into the muffin tins, filling up the cups about halfway. Bake until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes.

Make it Gluten-Free!
-Use this mix for the corn muffin mix.
-Make sure to use Daisy brand sour cream to ensure a gluten-free sour cream.

Mother’s Day 2010

It’s time to honor Mom!  How are you planning to dine with Mom this Sunday?  Is this your first reminder that Mother’s Day is THIS weekend?  If so, I hope I can help you get ready :)  Here’s some ideas from Krista Kooks to help you enjoy time with Mom at home.  Click on any of the pictures to be directed to the original blog post. Blueberry Delight-Great for breakfast or brunch with Mom. Bacon Quiche Biscuit Cups- Also great for breakfast or brunch.

Fish Oreganata- Perfect main dish for a light lunch with Mom.Roasted Vegetables-Use this preparation method for your favorite vegetable.

Parsley-Paprika Potatoes- Delicious compliment to the 2 above.    Spring Summer Ziti-Just make a simple pasta to share with Mom.Fruit Cookie Pizza- Help Mom keep it light for dessert with this fruit cookie pizza!

Whatever you do, I hope you have a great Mother’s Day with Mom!

Blueberry Delight

Many many months ago, the sous chef and I were staying with our sweet friends Mike and Cynthia.Being the perfect hostess that she is, Cynthia made a fabulous breakfast.  I’ve been wanting to make that thing for months!  Cynthia was kind enough to share the recipe with me and allow me to share it with you :) This Blueberry Delight is absolutely heavenly, and it’s even easier than making blueberry muffins.  That said, I’m confident that these can easily be made in blueberry form much the same way a cake can be make as a cake or cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Cream butter, egg, sugar and salt until fluffy. Combine flour & baking powder; add to creamed mixture slowly.  Slowly add milk,  mixing well. Add blueberries & pour into greased/floured square pan.

Krista Kooks used a 9x9 square pan and lined it with parchement paper, no greasing required.  Being able to lift the cake out of the pan shortly after removing it from the oven was nice, thanks to the parchment paper.  I could eat it faster! :)

Topping

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup softened butter

Combine all 4 ingredients & place on top of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
 

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

It was morning that needed breakfast today :) I decided that I needed to try my hand at homemade blueberry muffins because I've always just made them from a box. So, I searched online (big surprise) and found this recipe. http://recipes.recipeland.com/recipes/recipe/show/Blueberry_Cupcakes_or_Muffins_4300


I decided to half it since we really don't need that many muffins. What I loved about this recipe is that, even before you bake it, you can tell the batter is not as oily as boxed recipes. Both are still very good, but my tastetester claims that these are better ;)

Going into the oven!



Done and sugared :) Time to eat!