We had our first fire of the season last night and it is feeling very fall-ish. With fall in mind, I baked some pumpkin bread today using coconut flour (my new favorite thing). I found this recipe about a month ago and have been enjoying muffins and bread.....a lot! As I mentioned before, I have gluten allergies and my body doesn't seem to like grains very much, so I haven't had bread in quite a long time. My husband could eat the same thing everyday and be happy, however I love variety with my food and get awfully tired of protein and veggies at every meal. Sometimes, I just want something bread-like, especially with eggs in the morning. So, I was excited to find this recipe.
Coconut flour is fiber from the coconut meat after most of the oil has been extracted. It is high in protein and fiber and often used in low carb diets. BEWARE.. coconut oil cannot be used as an equal replacement for wheat flours as it has very different properties. I encourage you to try these muffins to see how it can be used, then you'll be able to find a ton of recipes online calling for coconut flour. I bought my coconut flour here, at tropicaltraditions.com (see pic below), but Bob's Red Mill brand can be purchased at health food stores and even some grocery stores. While it seems expensive, you use much less than wheat flours, so it goes a long way. The recipes also call for a lot of eggs as the binding ingredient, which provides even more protein, making these great for breakfast on the go. You won't feel the blood sugar drop that you would get from the typical carbohydrate-laden breakfast muffins. If you're not used to a high fiber diet, start by eating only one muffin at a time to allow your body to adjust and see how you respond. My body does better with these than many of the high fiber products out that use chicory root or inulin to increase the fiber content.
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil*, melted
1/4 coconut milk* or whole milk
6 Tbsp honey (I reduce this and use stevia to make up the difference for less calories and sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder*
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
Directions:
Blend all wet ingredients together. Combine baking powder, salt and coconut flour and stir into the wet ingredients. The coconut flour will absorb the liquid making a thick batter. If too thick, add 1 tbsp of liquid at a time until a thick batter. Pour into well greased muffin pans or pans lined with foil liners (the muffins tend to stick too much to paper liners). Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until center springs back when touched. Makes 12 muffins. You can also bake in a loaf pan for 40 minutes.
*If on the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD), use: coconut oil, coconut milk (or replace with any liquid) and substitute the baking powder with 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp lemon juice to make the muffins gluten and casein free.
Options:
- Pumpkin bread/muffins - add 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree, 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cloves.
- Blueberry Muffins - add 1 cup fresh berries (if using frozen, thaw then pat dry) and 1/4 tsp almond extract.
- Lemon Poppy seed bread or muffins - omit vanilla and substitute with 4 tsp lemon extract. Sprinkle with poppy seeds before baking.
- Lemon or Orange cake - omit the vanilla and use 4 tsp lemon or orange extract. For a "glaze", simmer 3 Tbsp lemon (or orange) juice and 2 Tbsp honey for 10 minutes until thickened. Allow to cool, then pour over loaf.
- Apple muffins - Add 1 cup of chopped apple, plus 2 tsp cinnamon (or to taste).
YUM!
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