Green Muffins Revisited

Well, this is quite embarrassing.  The last time I posted it was about green muffins.  That was a year ago and I'm still posting about green muffins.  I promise we really do eat other things besides green muffins!  Although I will say, they are a regular in our house since Jaxon loves them so much.  It's perfect though because tomorrow is St Patty's Day and now you have something green you can feed your cute kiddos!

I am reposting this recipe because I originally just changed it to make it vegan but now I have made it gluten free as well.  I recently decided to cut out/limit Jaxon's wheat and gluten intake to see how he does and see if I notice any improvement in his health and growth.  According to his allergy tests, he only had a slight sensitivity so the allergist told me not to worry about it.  I was so overwhelmed at the time dealing with his major allergies that I didn't want to have to worry about wheat too.  Now that I have the others under control, I am ready to tackle wheat!  This recipe was so easy to make vegan and it was so easy to make it gluten free too!  I love when I can easily alter the recipe and the results are the same!  I have learned very quickly that not all recipes work that way.

In the original post, I had used a flax egg as a substitute.  Since then, I have fallen in love with chia seeds and now use that sometimes as a substitute for the egg.  Chia seeds are great a nutritional powerhouse.  They are rich in calcium, omega 3's, and fiber to name a few!  You can make it the same way as a flax egg.  One tablespoon chia seeds to 3 tablespoons water.  Mix it up and it magically gels together!  Or you can grind up the chia seeds to make a powder or flour and then use the same ratio.  I prefer the latter.  If you don't grind them up, you will have little seeds almost like poppy seeds in your muffins.  Jaxon still ate them like that but I prefer the smoother texture.  I just used my nutri bullet to grind them up and I had a chia seed flour in a matter of seconds!  If an egg allergy is not an issue in your home, then you can still use a normal egg and the recipe should turn out fine.

Another change I made to the recipe is I swapped the sugar for coconut sugar.  There is not a lot of sugar in this recipe but refined sugar is another thing I have been attempting to cut out from our diets.  Coconut sugar has been a great alternative and another thing I have fallen in love with!  You can substitute it for a 1:1 ratio so there are no crazy conversions and  coconut sugar does not make your blood sugar spike like refined sugar.  Most health stores carry it or you can order it on Amazon!

To make the muffins gluten free, I used oat flour.  Oat flour is wonderful and sooo easy!  You can buy it in the store but it is so easy to make yourself.  All you need is gluten free oats and a blender!  Just put the oats in a blender and whirl away until it makes a flour.  I have not attempted other gluten free  flours but I would think most all-purpose gluten free baking flours would work.  Ok, well here is the recipe!

Green Muffins (adapted from Weelicious)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Place the following  6 ingredients in a food processor and puree.
1. 1/2 cup applesauce
2. 1 Flax egg, chia seed egg, or a normal egg
3. 2 teaspoons vanilla
4. 1 cup packed fresh spinach
5. 1/3 cup coconut sugar
6. 2 tablespoons coconut oil (can also use canola or vegetable oil)

While the above is pureeing combine the following ingredients in a bowl:
7. 1 1/2 cups oat flour (measured after blending the oats)
8. 1 teaspoon baking powder
9. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10. 1/2 teaspoon salt

Next, pour the spinach puree into the flour mixture.  Mix until combined.  Sometimes if it seems a little too sticky, I will add a few drops of rice milk or whatever milk you drink.  Scoop the batter into your greased mini muffin tin.  Bake for 12 mins. Enjoy!!

Green Muffins

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I figured its perfect timing for a “green” recipe!  Although the day is almost over it’s still a great recipe to make whether it’s St. Patty’s day or not because, don’t tell the kids, but there is spinach in these muffins!  The spinach gives these muffins their nice green color with no artificial junk needed and I promise you can’t taste the spinach.  I’ll admit, the first time I made these I was not sure if Jaxon would go for them but he ended up being pretty excited that his muffins were green!  Every time I make them, he always eats like 5 muffins right out of the oven.  They are mini but all he asks for the rest of the day are green muffins!

I found the recipe off of this great website http://punchfork.com/from/Weelicious.  They have tons of recipes that have veggies hidden in them like pink pancakes made from beets.  (Jaxon liked those too).  Today is all about green though.  This recipe originally isn’t vegan.  It has an egg in it but no milk so I simply substituted for the egg and they still turned out great.  If your child doesn’t have any allergies, you can make the recipe as is.  If allergies are involved, then you can follow my substitutions.  I have made them both with a flax egg and then using baking powder and vinegar as a substitute.  I think I preferred the baking powder and vinegar but Jaxon didn’t seem to have a preference.  I also do half whole wheat, half white flour.  Sorry I don’t have a picture but if you click on the link you can see their cute, green deliciousness!

Now for the info you really need: the recipe!  Enjoy and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Adapted from Spinach Cake Muffins

Green Muffins

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Flax Egg (1 TBS ground flaxseed mixed with 3 TBS water) OR 1 TBS vinegar & 1 tps baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup fresh spinach, packed

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable, canola oil, or coconut oil

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and puree.  If you don't have a food processor, I'm sure a blender would work fine.  If you are doing the flax egg, mix the ground flaxseed and water in a separate dish first so it has a minute to thicken then add to the mixture.  If you use coconut oil, make sure it's in liquid form.     

3. Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and stir to combine.

4. Pour the spinach mixture in a large mixing bowl.

5. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.

6. Scoop batter into a greased mini muffin tin or use mini cup liners, filling each cup 2/3 of the way.

7. Bake for 12 minutes.

8. Serve.

Makes 24 mini muffins