The Best & Healthiest Zucchini Muffins!
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Our garden inspired my first post. We have two zucchini plants that have been producing lots of zucchini, so I thought it was the perfect time to make zucchini muffins!
This and most of my recipes for baked goods were born in the days when I had babies that relied on me for nourishment. I had adopted a gluten-free lifestyle before having children. Then I had two babies with very sensitive tummies, so there were a lot of things I couldn't eat. My son couldn't tolerate dairy or egg and was also bothered by rice in my diet, oddly enough. My daughter was sensitive to dairy, corn and nuts in my diet. It essentially meant that while nursing, I had to eat baked goods that were gluten-free and vegan. If you have ever tried to bake gluten-free and vegan, you know how difficult it is! The gluten and egg gives traditional baked goods their structure and elasticity. Removing both of them makes baking a whole different ball game! I'm sure that's why it's also very difficult to find gluten-free and vegan baked goods available to buy in the grocery stores. Thankfully, I found a few bloggers that had already figured out some tricks and shared their recipes. The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen was one of them. Alissa's recipes gave me hope that I could still satisfy my craving for taste!
Once I started experimenting with Alissa's recipes, there was no turning back. I came up with so many recipes for baked goods that were gluten-free and vegan that it just became a way of life. These zucchini muffins are gluten-free, and since they are also dairy-free and egg-free they are vegan. They are also rice-free!
Did you know that a lot of muffin recipes call for a whole cup of sugar? That comes out to about 17 grams of sugar per muffin, not including any of the other ingredients! Store-bought muffins are often worse. Calorie King says Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip muffins have 34 grams of sugar per muffin. That's 7 teaspoons of sugar per muffin!
I minimized the sugar as much as possible in these zucchini muffins. Using honey for part of it helps to minimize the amount used because honey is so sweet that a little goes a long way. However, I kept some brown sugar in this recipe (I use sucanat unrefined cane sugar) because it really gives these muffins a great flavor. Even though there is still some sugar, these zucchini muffins only have about 10 grams or just over 2 teaspoons of sugar per muffin. I also use cashew flour to add nutrients and lower the glycemic load.
I use a standing grater to shred the zucchini and a Ninja Master Prep to grind the cashews. I love my Ninja Master Prep! It comes with a blender and food processor with one motor that powers both. I have used the food processor to grind nuts and seeds for my recipes for the past 4 years and it has done a fantastic job! The best part is that it costs less than $50, includes both the food processor and blender and has several thousand ratings boasting that it stands up to the Vitamix. Pretty awesome considering that it's 1/10th the price!
With minimal sugar and lots of nuts and zucchini in each muffin, you can feel great about eating these! I think they're especially good with a smear of butter from grass-fed cows on top, but they are certainly delicious without it if you want to keep the muffins vegan.
I hope you enjoy my cashew flour zucchini muffins! Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Cashew Flour Zucchini Muffins with Walnuts
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup millet/sorghum flour
- 1 ½ cups cashew flour
- ¼ cup sugar (Sucanat)
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup flaxseed meal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
- optional: 1 tsp coconut flour (add if the muffins come out too moist)
Wet Ingredients:
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or melted coconut oil or almond oil)
- ¼ cup honey (for rise)
- ½ cup applesauce
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup sugar (Sucanat)
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup flaxseed meal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
- optional: 1 tsp coconut flour (add if the muffins come out too moist)
Wet Ingredients:
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or melted coconut oil or almond oil)
- ¼ cup honey (for rise)
- ½ cup applesauce
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla
Additional Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups of shredded zucchini
- 2 ½ cups of shredded zucchini
- ¾ cup walnut pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
Wisk together the dry ingredients. Wisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour the wet into the dry and wisk before switching to a sturdy spoon. Fold in the shredded zucchini and then the walnuts and spoon into muffin cups.
Bake at 350 for 25-27 minutes (22-25 minutes at sea level)
Note: if the muffins come out too moist, coconut flour can be added. Start with 1 teaspoon. Yes, one teaspoon. That tiny little bit will soak up a lot of moisture!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
Wisk together the dry ingredients. Wisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour the wet into the dry and wisk before switching to a sturdy spoon. Fold in the shredded zucchini and then the walnuts and spoon into muffin cups.
Bake at 350 for 25-27 minutes (22-25 minutes at sea level)
Note: if the muffins come out too moist, coconut flour can be added. Start with 1 teaspoon. Yes, one teaspoon. That tiny little bit will soak up a lot of moisture!
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