Although N currently has no trouble eating his veggies, I know the day will probably come that he’s not quite so willing. On top of that, I’m always looking for way to offer him healthy snacks that are quick and easy. This recipe meets both of those requirements, packed full of two different veggies, only natural sugars, and, as if that wasn’t magic enough for a muffin, they’re naturally grain-free!
I’ve made these muffins twice now. Once, per the original recipe off of a healthy kids website with just the sweet potatoes, and then again today with some additions, adjustments, and general tinkering to increase the nutrition (and vegetables!). Despite my additions and changes, they still turned out great! N loved them, and hubby keeps snacking on them like they’re for him! You’ll see in the recipe that I used one egg and one flaxseed “egg”; you can certainly just use 2 eggs (I don’t know if 2 flaxseed eggs would work, but I have a feeling it would). We use pasture-raised eggs and go through a lot of them at our house, so I often dislike using them for baking. The recipe also calls for almond butter, but I think any nut butter would work, although it may have a stronger flavor with some. The sweetness, for me, was a bit much. I would probably drop a tablespoon of the maple syrup in the future and actually want to try these with date paste instead of maple syrup in the near future! I also added cocoa powder because it sounded fun. I liked the final product, but think I might even add more next time (hence the range of quantity in the ingredients listed below!).
Oh, and I totally forgot to mention; you make these babies in the blender! Yea, that’s right, you just toss everything in the blender, blend, and then poor into a muffin tin and bake. Awesome, right? Everybody needs an extra dose of veggies, and these muffins are a great way to do it in a healthy, grain free, delicious way!
Double Veggie, Grain-Free Muffins
Makes about 24 mini muffins and 1 large muffin
1 medium sweet potato, baked until soft and cooled
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
2 bananas
1 egg
1 flax egg (3 Tbsp hot water mixed with 1 Tbsp ground flax)
5-6 Tbsp maple syrup
2/3 cup almond butter, unsweetened
3-4 Tbsp raw cocoa powder
cinnamon
nutmeg
salt
2 tsp baking powder
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Grease a mini muffin pan or line with mini muffin liners. In a small bowl, mix the hot water and ground flax and allow to sit for a few minutes to start gelling.
Measure out about ¾ cup of the sweet potato (no skin). Add to the blender with all the other ingredients EXCEPT the baking powder. Blend until very smooth, stopping and pushing things down off the sides with a spatula as needed. Once smooth, add the baking powder and blend just to mix.
Divide evenly amongst the muffin tin, about ¾ full. Bake for about 15 minutes, until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Yum!
Oh, and I totally forgot to mention; you make these babies in the blender! Yea, that’s right, you just toss everything in the blender, blend, and then poor into a muffin tin and bake. Awesome, right? Everybody needs an extra dose of veggies, and these muffins are a great way to do it in a healthy, grain free, delicious way!
Double Veggie, Grain-Free Muffins
Makes about 24 mini muffins and 1 large muffin
1 medium sweet potato, baked until soft and cooled
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
2 bananas
1 egg
1 flax egg (3 Tbsp hot water mixed with 1 Tbsp ground flax)
5-6 Tbsp maple syrup
2/3 cup almond butter, unsweetened
3-4 Tbsp raw cocoa powder
cinnamon
nutmeg
salt
2 tsp baking powder
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Grease a mini muffin pan or line with mini muffin liners. In a small bowl, mix the hot water and ground flax and allow to sit for a few minutes to start gelling.
Measure out about ¾ cup of the sweet potato (no skin). Add to the blender with all the other ingredients EXCEPT the baking powder. Blend until very smooth, stopping and pushing things down off the sides with a spatula as needed. Once smooth, add the baking powder and blend just to mix.
Divide evenly amongst the muffin tin, about ¾ full. Bake for about 15 minutes, until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Yum!
