Grain Free Muffins

Giving up grains has been really hard on my family.  I don't miss the breads and pastas, but the kids and the husband certainly do! They think there has to be toast or oatmeal for breakfast.  Lunch has to be a sandwich.  Dinner has to have pasta or potatoes.  It was time to find a healthy alternative to satisfy their taste buds.

Wellness Mama has some great information about living a healthy lifestyle.  There are recipes, articles, and blog posts.  I found a recipe for Easy Coconut Flour Apple Cinnamon Muffins.  They looked "normal" enough, the recipe seemed easy enough.  A couple of the ingredients I didn't have on hand.  Coconut flour?!  Who uses that?!  Well, I do now.  Coconut oil?!  Surely that will make everything taste like coconut, right?!  Nope, not coconutty at all.  Just healthy.

These muffins were really tasty!  The apple cinnamon flavor was delicious.  The coconut flour has a weird texture that we'll have to get used to.  It's a bit grainy.  (Ha!  The grain free muffins are grainy!) 

The real test came after school.  My son and his friend were here to be my guinea pigs.  I didn't tell them what they were, just drizzled on some honey and served them.  They both gobbled them up and asked for more!

After the success of the original recipe I got confident.  I made another batch, omitting the cinnamon and swapping almond extract for the vanilla.  I chopped a bit of chocolate into the batter.  This batch wasn't as good.  There just wasn't much flavor.  They were a bit boring.  More chocolate, definitely more chocolate. 

I made a third batch with chocolate and peanut butter.  This time I melted the chocolate and added a bit of cocoa powder.  I added about 1/2 cup peanut butter.  I was a bit worried when the batter was light and airy like mousse.  No need for the worry!  This was the best batch of the three!  They're peanut buttery, chocolatey goodness.  Definitely kid approved.

My son has asked for blueberry and strawberry muffins next.  I'm excited about baking!  I'm super excited that my boy likes these healthy muffins.  The recipe is easy enough to whip up in no time.  I'll be keeping a supply on hand!