Coconut Flour Muffins

Baking is something that I gave up a few years ago, with the exception of homemade pies. Every year I make delicious pumpkin & pecan pie from scratch for Thanksgiving, but that is about it. I stay away from gluten & dairy. So much of the time it is too difficult to eat baked goods with those requirements. Well, these days I have felt the need to try and make a few baked goods myself. So this morning I decided to make muffins. Coconut flour muffins that are gluten-free & dairy-free. They tasted really good!

Here is what you need:

2 heaping tbsp of Coconut Oil* (I use Tropical Traditions brand)
*If the coconut oil is solid, heat it up so that you are working with a liquid
2 heaping tbsp of Raw Honey (if you are looking for a less sweet muffin try less Honey)
1/4 cup of applesauce (if you want dry muffins use less applesauce or cut it out entirely, I like my baked goods a bit on the heavy side.)
3 Eggs
1 tsp of Almond extract (if you want to use less feel free)
2 tbsp of coconut milk
- Mix the wet ingredients together in a bowl.

1/4 cup of Coconut Flour (Tropical Traditions brand)
1/4 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
1 small carrot - minced into small bits
1/3 cup of almonds - minced into small bits
1/3 cup of goji berries
1/3 cup of shredded coconut (Tropical Traditions brand)
- Mix the dry ingredients into a bowl

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then grease your muffin tins with coconut oil - enough so the muffins don't stick. Mix all the ingredients together and then spoon into the muffin tins about half way full. At this point I sprinkled shredded coconut on top of the muffins before I popped them into the oven, just to make it look pretty.

Bake for about 15-20 min depending on your oven. Use a toothpick, knife, or fork to test the muffin. If the utensil comes out clean the muffins are ready.

NOTE - mix and match things. I did not have any dried fruit or bitter chocolate chips, but if I had I might have tossed them in. I had also thought about using brown rice syrup rather than honey for a less sweet muffin (next time I will try that because these were sweeter than I had wanted for breakfast). I had a zucchini so I had debated on using that with the carrot...the possibilities are endless.

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Have you ever been stung?

Stung by bees I mean. I have been stung on a few occasions in my lifetime. I do not appreciate it and it hurts. I would also say that when bees decide to come and hang out with me outside and dine on whatever I am having I am none too pleased. However, I respect bees for their ability to pollinate our world. 

We enjoy many foods because of the bee population. My favorite food that is directly linked with bees is raw honey for all its fantastic health properties. Raw honey is a great sweetener that is pretty versatile. The best honey to choose is a local brand. Local bees mean local pollen. One of the tricks I use when I am feeling my sweet tooth starting to take hold is I heat up some water, put a few tbsps of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar with a single tbsp (or less) of honey in it. I drink it in about 8-12 oz. of water. It is a nice substitute for tea and its a bit of sweet and sour. In my experience it helps me curb the need for other sweets. It is a great drink before bed.

Bee pollen is also touted to have extremely positive benefits to the body. Whether that is to reducing allergic reactions, enhancing energy, and what I found out today while doing a bit a research sexual health. I think I will go for that drink once I wrap up this post...

The reason I decided to talk about bees & honey today is that although many of us have been stung and may have a fear of bees. We need to know that bees are disappearing. What does this mean for our food supply? There is a documentary that is called The Vanishing of Bees. Check it out. It only takes a minute.