Saturday, January 19, 2013

Banana Coconut Muffins


It's January, and like many people, I've made a New Years resolution to avoid unhealthy foods this year.  I've been trying to eat less wheat and sugar.  Wheat and sugar are very inflammatory and I've been having some trouble with tendonitis.  But then, I had this large bunch of very ripe bananas that needed attention.  They were demanding to be made into muffins.



I figured if I was going to make muffins, I would try to come up with a recipe that was gluten, egg, dairy and refined sugar free.  I used a combination of gluten free flours according to a ratio developed by Gluten Free Girl.  Quinoa flour, oat flour, rice flour and tapioca starch.  I also used coconut sugar, which has a very low glycemic rating, and coconut oil which is also anti-inflammatory, and may actually help you to loose weight.  I used coconut milk for the liquid in place of dairy.
  
I was pleasantly surprised how tender the crumb was considering these were gluten and egg free.  The combination of bananas and coconut was wonderful.  They're best eaten warm, right out of the oven.  I would suggest reheating them the second day, if they make it that far.


Banana Coconut Muffins (Gluten Free & Vegan)
Makes 9 muffins - Use organic ingredients whenever possible

1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup quinoa flour
1/3 cup oat flour
1 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened dried coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 very ripe bananas
1 cup canned coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Large chip coconut for decorating the tops

Preheat your oven to 350˚
In a food processor, process the coconut until it's powdery.
Add the flours, starch, sugar, salt and soda.
Pulse a few times to mix.
In another bowl, mash the bananas, they can be chunky if you want.
Mix in the coconut oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones.
Oil or line a muffin tin.
Divide the batter evenly to make 9 muffins.
Decorate the tops with the large chip coconut.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Remove them from the muffin pan to cool.

3 comments:

  1. Yum! Love coconut and banana! Did you use desiccated coconut and coconut sugar? You mention the sugar but it's not listed?

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  2. I love rice flour, how is quinoa flour? I've never tried it.

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  3. Shel - I used organic unsweetened shredded coconut. Thanks for letting me know that I forgot to include the coconut sugar, I added it to the recipe.

    Talaia - I like the quinoa flour, but it's best mixed with other flours.

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