So this is my first food post, yay! These beautiful grain-free banana chocolate chip muffins are one of my favorites. These are for all the nay-sayers who tell me “I can’t live without baked good, I could never give up grains!” I get oh’s and ah’s when I make these and most people are amazed they don’t contain grain flour! Why do I personally try to avoid flour in my diet you ask? While everyone has their own level of tolerance in what they eat, foods with grain flours have had the following impact on how I feel:
- Blood sugar spikes – Flour digests very quickly in the body which causes blood sugar levels to spike. What does this mean to me you ask? It means I am hungry two hours later for more of the same type of food. Research indicates that over consuming carbohydrates is one of the leading causes of diabetes and overall rise of inflammation in our bodies. (More information on inflammation in future blogs!)
- Food cravings – I admit I love to eat! However I find when I eat foods containing grains, I eat more and I eat more things that are not what my body needs. Research shows the refined flours unleash a chemical reaction in our brains that increase food cravings and lead to consuming more food than we otherwise would have had we not eaten these ingredients in the first place.
- Stomach pain – upon consuming flour and other grains my stomach immediately feels uncomfortable. Is it devastating? Not always…but I know these ingredients are doing more harm than the temporary good feeling I get from eating them. I’ve learned that this uncomfortable feeling is because the flour is not digesting well in my gut and is creating inflammation, possibly even leaking out harmful substances in to my blood stream creating more inflammation!
- Allergies/intolerances – Not all of us need to be gluten free or even grain free. However research indicates that most of us can benefit from cutting gluten out of our diets and even all grains especially if we tend to be the ones that have inflammatory responses such as stomach pains, bloating, dark circles under the eyes, fatigue, achey joints, skin rashes, persistent cough, headaches, asthma or tendencies to over-eat.
This recipe is awesome because it provides protein, low glycemic carbs (banana) and some sweetness all from whole foods. I love eating these before a run. Great for breakfast or a snack and the kiddos even like them! (heated up with some grass-fed butter is awesome!) I always use liquid stevia in my recipes as it’s my natural sweetener of choice. 1/4 cup of honey, maple syrup or even coconut sugar could be used (omit the apple sauce, which is there for bulk). I love when people make my recommended recipes, so post your final results and tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can see! Happy Baking!
- 3 ripe bananas
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 tsp liquid stevia
- 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Chips (dairy free)
- Mash bananas, add all other ingredients and mix well. Spray mini-muffin tins with non-stick coconut spray. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes or until they feel spongy
adapted from this recipe
2 Comments
Shirley Oltman
I have the enjoy life mega chocolate chunks, but they taste very sweet. Do you know the cocoa content for this brand? Would The Sun spire organic 65% kcacao, bitter sweet chocolate chips work just as well?
Michelle
You need to find the dark chocolate Enjoy life morsels, they are 69% cacao. I only use Enjoy life because they are dairy free. Any dark chocolate chips would work fine!