Red Currant Muffins (GF, DF)

So the number one question I'm probably going to get is WTF are currants? Honestly, I didn't even know myself until about 2 days ago. I stumbled upon some red currants at a small, local market when I was looking for blueberries and was intrigued. Obviously I googled them, and one of the first things that popped up was, "If you find local currants, buy them!" So I followed suit, snagged my currants, and headed home. Side note - they were gone in 2 days. 

From what I read, they seemed like tart berries, so I played around with them in the kitchen for breakfast. I loved the breakfast; My niece did not. Needless to say, they're definitely tart. So I figured the perfect way to balance out the tartness would be to put them into some delicious, sweet muffins. They did not disappoint! I made them gluten free and dairy free, and they are still so perfect and moist (sorry for the use of the word, but they are). Plus the sweet and tart balance is on point. And if you aren't feeling the idea of tart currants or just can't find them, feel free to swap them out for the berries of your choice. I'd imagine blueberries would be a great sub.

Here's What You'll Need:

-1 cup quinoa flour (I use this one)
-1/4 cup coconut sugar
-2 tbsp pure maple syrup
-Pinch of sea salt
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1 egg
-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-3/4 cup red currants

Makes 6 muffins

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) Mix together all ingredients minus the currants until smooth.
3) Fold in the currants (may reserve a few to place on the tops of the muffins).
4) Evenly disperse the mix in a 6-cup muffin tin. Optional - top each with reserved currants.
5) Place the muffin tin into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until muffins are fully cooked through.
6) Remove the muffins, serve, and enjoy!

These muffins make for the perfect snack, treat, on the go breakfast, or even dessert! I haven't tried subbing other flours or milks, but I will update this post if I do. Or feel free to let me know how it goes in the comments below! I would also imagine the ghee would work as a sub for coconut oil as well as a vegan egg for the egg, but again, I haven't tested it out yet. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Double Chocolate Protein Banana Bread - Vegetarian + GF

Since being introduced to Naked Nutrition's clean protein powders with minimal, straight-forward ingredients, I've been having so much fun playing around and coming up with new plant-based protein-packed recipes. Their Chocolate Less Naked Pea Protein contains just pea protein, raw cacao, and coconut sugar. That's it! No weird junk and nothing to hide. So naturally, I've been having a blast trying it out in all of the chocolatey goodness that I can think of, and this week is no different! In fact, I was feeling extra chocolatey this week which led me to this double chocolate protein banana bread recipe.

It's not only packed with all of the chocolate. It also brings the protein and other nutrients while being vegetarian, dairy free, and gluten free. It can also easily be made vegan by swapping out the eggs with flax eggs or nut free by swapping out the almond milk. It's basically the perfect way to Saturday, and will most likely be gone by the end of the weekend. No joke.

Here's What You'll Need:

-2 ripe (ideally spotty) bananas
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-3/4 cup coconut flour
-2 eggs
-1 scoop Naked Nutrition's Chocolate Less Naked Pea Protein powder
-1 tsp baking powder
-2 tbsp chocolate sunflower seed butter (I used this one) or the nut butter of your choosing
-1 tbsp cacao powder (I used this one)
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other milk of your choosing)
-1/2 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips 

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) Mash your bananas in a bowl with a hand mixer or wooden spoon.
3) Mixed in the coconut oil, eggs, sunflower seed butter, and almond milk.
4) Add in the dry ingredients (minus the chocolate chips), and mix until well combined.
5) Fold in the chocolate chips. I reserved a few to add onto the top at the end, but feel free to add them all in if desired.
6) Pour the mixture into a greased or parchment-lined loaf pan, and spread it out evenly.
7) Bake in to the oven for about 50 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).
8) Let the bread cool a bit for about 15-20 minutes before removing and slicing it.
9) Serve, and enjoy!

Hello chocolate heaven! Am I right? I know what I'm having as my dessert...and pre and post-workout snacks...and probably breakfast, lunch and dinner the next few days. But really, it's hard to keep your hands off (and mouth full) of this banana bread. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

There are a number of things that made me want to make these muffins. 1) I've been a banana bread kick (especially if it involves chocolate) 2) I had very, very brown bananas, and most importantly 3) I recently found out that someone in one of my best friend's family was recently diagnosed with a severe case of Celiac Disease. 

I recently learned a lot about Celiac Disease through the course I'm taking at IIN (ask me about it or click on the health coaching tab if you want to know more about the program). I'm by no means an expert, but my friend reached out to me to see if I knew of any food companies, bloggers, foods that were specifically gluten free. This along with just learning about and hearing other Celiac stories through my program made me want to go with a gluten free recipe.

I can't imagine what it's like to get that diagnosis, but there are really some great people, products, companies, and recipes that make the necessary transition to gluten free a little easier. So I was hoping to contribute just a teeny tiny recipe in the grand scheme of things to prove that you can still eat some damn good baked goods.

The recipe is also dairy free for my dairy-intolerant or just nondairy eaters and readers out there.

Here's What You'll Need:

-1 cup coconut flour
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-Pinch of sea salt
-2 bananas
-2 tbsp honey
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
-1 egg
-4 oz plain Kite Hill almond milk yogurt
-1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/2 dark chocolate bar (ideally at least 70% cacao), broken into small chunks

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray an 8+ cup muffin tin with cooking spray (the recipe yields 8 muffins). I use coconut oil cooking spray.
2) Mix together the dry ingredients (coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt).
3) Mix together the bananas, honey, vanilla, coconut oil, egg, yogurt, and almond milk using a hand mixer until all ingredients are well combined and the batter is smooth.
4) Mix the wet ingredients into the dry mixture.
5) Fold in chocolate chunks, and mix until evenly distributed.
6) Evenly divide the batter between 8 cups of the muffin tin.
7) Cook the muffins in the oven for 25 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).
8) Let them cool for about 5 minutes, and then remove them from the tin.
9) Enjoy!

You can easily reheat these if you're eating them the next day. Actually, I recommend it! They're so delicious with that gooey chocolate. Let me know what you think!

Gluten Free Coconut Pancakes

So I've been on a coconut kick lately. I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway that landed me some shredded coconut from Woodstock Foods. Plus, I've discovered probably one of the more amazing nut butter developments, coconut nut butter. Holy yum! I will be doing some reviews on a couple very soon, but I'll give you a preview, they are AMAZING!

So I figured why not combine all of this coconut yumminess into pancake form? I also make my pancakes with coconut flour, so this is perfect. And I must say, they're pretty darn good.

Here's What You'll Need:

-2 eggs
-2 egg whites
-1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 tsp honey
-1 tbsp Manna Organics cashew coconut butter
-1 tbsp Woodstock Foods shredded coconut
-1/2 cup coconut flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-Pinch of sea salt
-Coconut butter for cooking

Instructions:

1) Whip up the egg and egg whites together in a bowl for a minute or two.
2) Add in the remaining ingredients (minus the coconut butter to cook) and stir until mostly smooth.
3) Heat up the coconut oil in a pan over medium high heat.
4) Add your pancakes to the pan (about 3-4 inches in diameter) and cook  until they begin to bubble on the top (about 2-3 minutes).
5) Flip the pancakes and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
6) Remove the pancakes from the heat, serve, and top with your favorite toppings (i.e. more coconut nut butter).

If you don't have coconut nut butter, you can switch it out for some additional honey or other sweetener in the recipe. Enjoy, and let me know what you think in the comments below!