Red [Brown] & Blue Berry Muffins!

Just in time for the 4th of July, here is a recipe for Red and Blue colored muffins, free of gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, refined sugar, legumes, and very low in grains...

These muffins are delicious. Soft, moist (though a bit crumbly) in texture, the chestnut flour gives them a warm nutty flavor while the blueberries sweeten and the raspberries give a little tang. They are an achievement I'm most proud of!

I have tested this recipe three different times, changing at least one ingredient each time. The last test was done using mini-cupcake liners and my new mini cupcake tin I purchased in prep for Victory's first birthday.
They turned out well each time, which tells me that they are nearly foolproof muffins. It helps (and somehow feels more decadent) to eat them with a spoon in a little bowl; this way you're sure to get every last crumb in your mouth too!

This version I'm sharing with you was my third experiment. It uses the highest ratio of Chestnut flour, I'm guessing this is why these were the darkest in color of the three versions. It also uses the lowest amount of grains, so that's why I picked it to share. If you're interested in the other two (just as delicious) versions using rice flour and tapioca flour, comment and I will post them.

This recipe came about a few weeks back, when there was literally nothing to eat in our kitchen but a few ingredients. A few gluten free flours I wanted to get rid of, frozen berry blend mix from Costco, and part of a bag of Chestnut flour leftover from my birthday Carrot Cake Cupcakes. I pulled my Flying Apron Baking Book off the shelf and found a recipe for "Maple Berry Muffins." I modified it to be as Primal, grain-free and low-sugar as possible, and three baking sessions later, here are these muffins.

These taste so good, and look so pretty, that they may be making an appearance at Victory's 1st birthday party next month, complete with fresh blackberries from our garden! I hope you enjoy them as much as we have (that includes me, Hubs, my mom, our friends, our friends' kids, our neighbors... they are crowd pleasers)!

Red (Brown) & Blue Berry Muffins

Makes 10-12 traditional size muffins, 24+ mini muffins

What you need:

1 1/2 cups chestnut flour, such as Dowd & Rogers
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1+ cup water
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
1/3 cup pure organic maple syrup OR 1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger, optional
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup fresh/frozen raspberries
1/2 cup fresh/frozen blueberries

*I have been reading Michael Ruhlman's Ratio, and I have to say, it pains me to list out these measurements for you, knowing that if they were weights instead, you'd be essentially guaranteed a perfect muffin. My blog may turn into a recipe-by-ratio, baking-by-weight destination in the future, because I am really loving that concept. In the meantime, go with your gut. Baking without gluten really isn't so intimidating or risky, just pay attention to the texture of your batter and have fun! That is what it's really about :)

What you do:


Preheat oven to 365 degrees. Prepare your muffin tin, using festive paper liners.
In small-medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside.
Using stand mixer, whisk together liquid ingredients on low until blended.
Slowly add dry ingredients to liquid mix, on medium speed, until smooth. Add water if mixture seems to need more liquid. Batter will be runny, similar to pancake batter, or a slightly watery brownie batter.
Scoop 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Depending upon how much water used, you will get 10 to 12 traditionally sized muffins.
Drop berries (can be frozen still) on top of batter in each muffin cup.
Bake until golden and tops are slightly firm to touch. It took 20 minutes for my traditional size muffins to bake (check at 15), and less than 10 minutes for the mini muffins (check at 5 minutes).

Note: Don't stress too much about getting them perfectly done. The beauty of baking without eggs is that even if your muffins turn out to be not quite done, they won't hurt you!

Enjoy! (I know you will!)

These would be delicious set on top of a small bowl of coconut milk ice cream... Excuse me while I steal away to my kitchen to see if I have what's needed to make that happen ;)

Have a festive 4th of July with family, friends, fireworks, or whatever else helps you celebrate all that our nation's freedom has given you. We are so blessed to live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Happy birthday America!

Jumping Off the Wagon

You guys, I've jumped off the wagon for a few days. No, not by eating gluten, dairy, or even soy or eggs - I can't ever eat those things. Still no garlic or citrus or pineapple - that would not be good. Nothing I know will outright cause allergic reactions. I went to the store and bought a basket full of treats and snacks, and some of them are very definitely NOT Paleo. I needed some help getting me through this hungry/exhausted/frustrated/completely baffled week. Here's what I got:

Yes there are some grains in there (rice). And some outright un-Paleo, unhealthy, completely junk-filled Swedish fish. But the rest is not half bad right?  :)

See? I'm not perfect in any respect, and eating Paleo full time while trying to take care of your family and home, breastfeeding a nine-month-old, dealing with chronic illness daily "stuff," and freakish allergic reactions - well it just doesn't always work out.

Do you know how hard it is to find grain-free snacks that do not contain garlic? I would be all over some beef jerky, but it's got garlic. I ran into garlic or the vague "spices" term listed on so many ingredient labels. What is the deal with that?

Somehow, I got "glutened" or ingested some other allergen the other day. I am still completely baffled as to what it was. I know something happened because I had the worst reaction I've ever had - brain fog, complete and total exhaustion physically, emotional ups and downs, itchy, sinus stuffiness, joint pains, headache... Oh was it HORRIBLE! Hubs and I have been calling and looking up the manufacturer information for the foods we ate and still haven't come across a clue. (By the way, Kraft customer service is VERY nice! We called them about some uncured Oscar Mayer bacon -nope, it wasn't that-, and Hubs was on the phone for fifteen minutes including speaking with an executive! Go Kraft, you really are trying hard to be accommodating and sensitive to those with food restrictions!)

But it's been a tough couple of days. Whatever this was it threw my guts into a flare up and I have felt more than ever before that I am not absorbing anything from what I've been eating. Just getting up and walking across our tiny house feels like dragging a cart full of boulders behind me. I don't know how much it affects my energy level when in a flare like that, but I am still breastfeeding as well and I was dreading feeding Victory each time, because of how exhausted I felt. And that's not something I want to be feeling!

So.

I jumped off the wagon. I bought some food I can grab right out of the cupboard. And a few treats to boot. And I'm only sharing this so you see that I too, am human. I am learning that, particularly with Autoimmune disease and following the Paleo AIP, it doesn't matter as much that you're eating "perfectly," as much as it matters that you are dealing with stress and not putting unhealthy pressure on yourself. So this is my little vacation off the perfect Paleo highway, and I'll enjoy it, and get back to grain-free, crap-sugar-free soon.
I'm okay with that :)

Do you ever take a break from something in your life? "Jump off a wagon" that you intentionally were on to pursue health?
Sometimes it's more important to give ourselves grace and a little break, as long as we're still keeping health in mind. Pursuing health, especially when you have autoimmune disease, is a life-long journey, full of ups and downs and adjustments. What is important is to keep moving forward and brush off the guilt and tough moments.

[Nutritious] Chocolate Banana Drink

This afternoon I was watching TV and got stuck on the Ninja Kitchen System infomercial. Isn't it true that even if you have NO need for a product, an infomercial can sell you anything if you don't hang on to your self control and head sense? Translation: Even though I own a nice quality Kitchen Aid blender, food processor, mixer, and Jack Lalanne Juicer, a few minutes watching the wonders of the Ninja KS, and I thought I needed it. What can I say? Anything cooking-related is my weakness. Thankfully I came to my senses, and realized I could make a delicious afternoon treat (like they were making on TV) without spending any money, using what I already own.

So I hopped into the kitchen and got to it. This was my inspiration today:

When we were kids, occasionally my mom made us this super yummy afternoon snack that we called "Chocolate Banana Drink." It consisted of ice, bananas, and chocolate pudding mix. Simple, sugary, and delicious. This afternoon I wanted something that tasted like that, but chocolate pudding mix is full of junk and not something I keep around my pantry (anymore). So I adapted my own [gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, sugar-free, Paleoish] recipe, and in under ten minutes we were all enjoying a delicious, chocolate frappe-style dessert drink. Here's the recipe:

[Nutritious] Chocolate Banana Drink!

What you need:

2 frozen bananas, broken into smaller pieces

handful (about 1 cup) frozen, torn spinach and kale leaves

1/2 cup coconut milk (I used Silk PureCoconut original)

1-2 TB cocoa powder (add more/less to taste)

1 TB golden flax meal

Optional:

3 chunks frozen pear

4 ice cubes

1/2 cup water

What you do:

Put bananas, greens, coconut milk and cocoa powder into blend and puree until it reaches the right consistency. I had to add 1/2 cup water to help it along, then it was too runny, so I added the frozen pear and ice cubes, and more cocoa powder and it became the perfect chocolately frappe consistency. 

I enjoyed my treat so fast, only afterward did I realize I should share this on the blog, and there was nothing left to photograph! My hubs had a tiny bit left:

Make this drink and this is what you'll be seeing -or rather NOT seeing- in a matter of minutes  :)