(no sugar) Carrot, Apple and Zucchini Muffins

As you can see by my posts these week, this fall blast has put me in the baking mood. It also helped that I have started attending this cooking & health lecture series and it has given me a ton of inspiration on getting even more nutritious things on the table for all of us.  There is this amazing restaurant here in Exeter, Blue Moon Evolution, and they have partnered with the Food and Health Forum to bring a cooking series for parents together. The first class was great! I felt refreshed, inspired and ready to bake!

Let me preface this recipe (that I got from the class) by saying that I have trouble keeping these around. They are so good that everyone can't seem to stop eating them!  I love them because there is basically equal part batter (to hold it together) and part grated fruits and veggies.  They are moist and sweet  but NO refined SUGAR in these!  Just maple syrup, which I love as a mineral boosted natural sweetener.  I'm thinking my next batch I'll add a handful of flax too.

Enjoy!

1 cup of almond flour
1/4 brown rice or oat flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup grapeseed oil (or coconut oil)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 large egg at room temp
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup grated zucchini (from 1 unpeeled organic medium zucchini)
1/2 cup grated apple
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup Pecans (optional)

Preheat 350
Line 12 muffin tins

In a medium bowl sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add any solids leftover in the sifter to the bowl and mix.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the oil, syrup, and egg. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the grated carrot, grated zucchini, apple and raisins.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.

Chalkboard Wall!

Have you seen our giant chalkboard wall?

We LOVE it but we were a little nervous to begin with because as you can see it was an enormous focal point in our kitchen/dining room. HUGE!

But we went forward with it and I loved it right away! 

Everyone, adults and children, use it all the time. 

I would highly recommend adding one to a big family space in your home.   My 2 and 4 year old use it all the time. It comes in spurts. They go a week with out touching it and then all of a sudden its all they do for 2 hours one night.  The mess is not bad at all, but I have found that the wall needs to be carefully erased.  We need to wipe the board down with a wet soapy cloth, and then rewipe with another clean cloth. This is after the chalk has built up for awhile and the traditional eraser does nothing but move it around eventually. 

And case you are wondering, the top is a piece of picture wire stretched tightly. I found these bird clothespins at Crate & Barrel.

Yum! Banana Bread

I had a couple of bananas today that were at the end of their life so I decided to make banana bread. Since I rarely do the same recipe twice I looked around online, found a recipe that looked good and then I changed a bunch of stuff to help make it a teensy bit more nutritious for the kiddos. The result was soooooo good!!! Yum Yum! Really moist and delicious!

Here it is:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temp

2/3 cups of sugar

1/3 cup of unsweetened organic applesauce

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

CREAM ALL OF THESE INGREDIENTS TOGETHER

Then add the dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour ( I used equal parts unbleached white flour, almond flour, oat flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

MIX THESE DRY INGREDIENTS UNTIL JUST COMBINED

Add:
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup sour cream

We also added a 1/4 cup of dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of FLAX SEED for some sneaky Omega 3s.

Feel free to add nuts!

Give it all one last mix....

Put in a greased bread pan and bake at 350 for 55 - 60 mins

Let cool and enjoy!