Grace Brinton

Recipes ~ Healthy Living

Banana-Zucchini Muffin

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ban-muffin6

This is a great on-the-go snack or breakfast! If you know me, you know I am always looking to sneak veggies into food. This is because a.) mo’ nutrients = mo’ bettah 2.) I cook for families with kiddos who don’t eat many veggies 3.) I cook for a fiancé who is still learning to appreciate veggies as well. Ha!

Banana-Zucchini Muffin
 
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This nutritious little muffin sneaks in veggies but you'd never guess it. You'll need a blender or immersion blender.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
  • 3 dates, choped and soaked in hot water for 15+ mins
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 3 large eggs, whisked together
  • ¼ cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 small zucchini, shredded
  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1½ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 Tbl coconut oil or ghee, melted
  • optional: ⅓ cup raisins
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF (350ºF non-convection)
  2. Line muffin pan with paper liners
  3. Soak the 3 dates on just enough boiling water to cover them, allow to sit while you prep remaining ingredients
  4. Mash bananas in a small bowl with a fork
  5. Add eggs and mix with a whisk
  6. Remove dates from liquid, discard liquid
  7. Add dates and pumpkin puree, and blend with immersion blender -or pour into a blender- mix until dates are mostly all pureed
  8. Return mixture to bowl and add in zucchini
  9. In a separate medium sized bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon.
  10. Slowly pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture, whisking as you go to avoid clumps.
  11. Just before all is combined, add coconut oil (or ghee) and whisk gently to combine
  12. Add raisins of using
  13. Scoop batter into muffin liners, should make 12 muffins
  14. Sprinkle a smidge of cinnamon on top each muffin if you want because it's pretty!
  15. Bake for 15 mins, rotate pan, bake another 10 minutes and check for doneness: a knife inserted into center of muffin should come out mostly clean. Add 5 more minutes of necessary.

 

Dairy-free Berry ‘Yogurt’

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yogurt2

When I went dairy-free, the two hardest things to give up were yogurt and cheese. I’m glad I broke my addiction to both these food items, because it taught me how heavily I was relying on them. I always had yogurt for breakfast, and learning to eat more savory foods in the morning has completely opened up my options for what I can eat.  Today I decided to play around with my grass-fed gelatin and see what I could come up with. I’ve made gelatin gummies, chocolate pudding, and today I thought I’d go for a fruit-based ‘yogurt-like’ snack. I say yogurt-like because I didn’t incorporate probiotics which is what makes yogurt actual yogurt. I first wanted to make sure I could make the recipe work, and then the next time I want to incorporate gut-friendly bacteria.

RECIPE: Dairy-free Berry 'Yogurt'
 
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Sugar-free, dairy-free, crap-free!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 8 oz. full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 strawberries
  • 1 banana
  • ¼ cup blueberries
  • 1½ tsp. grass-fed gelatin
Instructions
  1. Pour 6 oz of coconut milk into a blender
  2. Add the strawberries and banana, blend until smooth
  3. Pour mixture into small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat
  4. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on the remaining coconut milk to absorb the moisture for 5 minutes
  5. Whisk the gelatin mixture into the berry mixture on the stove and whisk gently while heating for about 5 minutes
  6. Add blueberries to blender, and puree with just enough of the coconut mixture to make a blue-ish paste
  7. Pour the blueberry mixture into the bottom of a 12 oz glass jar (or whatever conatiner you want to store it in)
  8. Place the mixture in the freezer and allow to cool for 5 mins
  9. Continue to gently stir the remaining strawberry mixture to avoid a skin from forming while the blueberry mixture cools
  10. Gently pour the strawberry mixture over the blueberry mixture, this is to create a "blueberry-bottomed" look to your yogurt (it's just for fun, you can mix it all together if you want)
  11. I pour the strawberry mix over a spoon which is held over the jar and let it cascade onto the blueberry mixture- this helps the two not mix together
  12. Place your jar in the fridge and allow to set, at least 30 mins
  13. Serve with your favorite garnish such as coconut flakes, nuts, or fresh berries!

 

Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins

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PumpkinBlueberryMuffins

My take on a muffin isn’t quite the refined sugar-bomb that you see in most bakeries. This recipe is a great on-the-go snack that sneaks in some veggies AND protein -but without any sugar, dairy, or gluten to upset your stomach.

Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Ingredients
  • ½ cup pumpkin puree
  • 4 large eggs
  • ¼ cup coconut milk (or coconut cream works too)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbl coconut oil, melted
  • 1 medium carrot, shredded
  • ¼ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
  • Heaping ¼ cup coconut flour or sweet potato flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • ¼ cup blueberries (you can use any fruit you want, don’t worry I don’t mind!)
Instructions
Preparation:
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
  2. Line a muffin pan with paper liners
  3. Makes 8 muffins (you can double the recipe if you want more)
Steps:
  1. In a small bowl whisk the pumpkin puree with the 4 eggs, then add the coconut milk and vanilla extract and whisk to combine
  2. Slowly add the coconut oil, then the carrot and shredded coconut
  3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together
  4. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture,whisking as you pour to avoid clumps
  5. Add fruit and stir just to combine
  6. Pour batter into muffin liners, stopping ¼ inch from top
  7. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes until a knife inserted in muffins comes out mostly clean (no major smudges)
  8. *Note: everyone’s oven is different, so I suggest after 20 minutes, check the muffins and bake in 5 minute increments until done.
  9. Also, please note, these consist mainly of pumpkin and egg, so they are not like a normal “muffin”, however you can add 1-2 Tbl more of the flour to experiment with a texture you like. I use minimal flour because I prefer to consume as little of ANY type of flour as possible, even when they are grain-free.
  10. I store these in a glass container in the fridge, and reheat them sliced in half in a skillet. Or just throw them in a baggie and take them on the road with you.