Cranberry and Carrot Muffins

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 cup whole oats

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 Tbsp. ground flax seed

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup grated carrot

3 eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 350'C. Line 9 muffin tins with parchment.

In a medium bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, apple sauce and grapeseed oil. Fold in the grated carrot.  Combine the wet ingredients with the dry (add half the liquid mixture first, then fold in the rest).  Finally, stir in the cranberries. 

Fill each muffin tin about half full with the muffin mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack.  

Banana and Raisin Muffins

2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1 Tbsp. ground flax
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 cup whole oats
1/2 cup ground pecans
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins




Preheat oven to 350'C. Line 9-12 muffin tins with parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine the flax, rice flour, tapioca starch, oats, pecans, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, and grapeseed oil. Pour half of the liquid into the dry ingredients bowl. Using a spatula, gently combine the ingredients. Add in the remaining liquid and fold over to fully mix.

Place 1/3 cup of the mixture into each muffin tin. Place in the preheated oven for 20-25 muffins. Allow to cool, then enjoy!

Coconut Granola

One of Michael's clients brought in some homemade granola a few weeks ago.  I am still not sure all the ingredients in that granola, but I tried my best to make something similar.  We really need to get that recipe because we ate it all within a week or so. It was a nice snack with goat's milk or as a side to my breakfast.  I wouldn't just have this for breakfast because it doesn't have enough protein to get me through my morning.  It is definitely a nice change from the usual berries for breakfast.

Coconut Granola

3 cups gluten free rolled oats
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup unpasteurized honey
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 350'C.  Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  In a large measuring cup, whisk together the honey and coconut oil.  Pour liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to coat evenly.  Spread it out on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 25-30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so.  The granola will be soft when you remove in from the oven, but will crisp up as it cools.  Break the mixture up and serve with goat's milk or high fat organic yogurt. Store the rest in a airtight container.
*add your favourite ingredients to this recipe.  I think adding some slivered almonds would be yummy.

What to have for breakfast? How about some pancakes!

I ordered about 20 pounds of almond flour back in the summer.  After I gave some to other people, I was left with about 8-10 pounds.  Throughout the last few months I have been making many different almond flour treats.  On Saturday morning, I only had about 2 cups left, so I knew I would not have enough to make a batch of muffins.  I decided on pancakes and found this recipe on Elana's website: http://www.elanaspantry.com/gluten-free-pancakes-revisited/ 

After a change to the recipe (I used 1 tbsp. of coconut sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup of hot water instead of agave nectar) they turned out surprisingly good and were actually light and fluffy.  Most of the time, almond flour leads to dense, thick baking, but this recipe was not like that. 





Almond Flour Pancakes
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tbsp coconut sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
grapeseed oil

Using a fork, whisk the eggs and vanilla together.  In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda.  Mix egg mixture in with the dry ingredients.  Finally, pour the liquid coconut sugar into the bowl - add enough to make the batter smooth (but not too runny).

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.  Pancakes will take less than a minute on each side.  Watch for bubbles to form and once they pop, flip to the other side.

Serve with your favourite warmed fruit or pancake topping.