Recipe: Grain Free Blueberry Bliss Muffins Inspired by CURLS #TripleThreat

Make 'em for someone who loves carbs. I promise they'll love it!

I  love blueberry muffins. But they don't love me back.

I mean, they don't make my life difficult or anything - they're just chock full of calories - more specifically, fats and carbs.

As my fitness journey progresses and I make adjustments to my food selections, I find myself having to whip up alternatives to processed foods in my own kitchen. Personally, I love the challenge of making something healthier taste just as good as the original.

And that's exactly what these Grain Free Blueberry Bliss Muffins are.

CURLS #TripleThreat

I was so inspired by the CURLS #TripleThreat collection that I had to create a recipe! As I grow, I'm learning that what goes inside of my body impacts my hair just as much as any product. I've become more ingredient conscious, and learned more about macronutrients and what they do for our bodies. While I won't claim that this is a clean eating, paleo, keto, or whatever recipe, it is inspired by all those things, and rooted in eating whole foods. I can say with absolute certainty that it is grain and gluten free - so if you're avoiding those things, this recipe will definitely work for you!

Read: How I Preserve My Curls Overnight with CURLS Triple Threat

This recipe also works with a few variations, so feel free to switch it up! It's really hard to mess up. I promise.

Let's get started!

Ingredients You'll Need

• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal for texture
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons turbinado
• 3 teaspoons stevia, truvia, or splenda (your preference)
• 1/4 cup unsweetend vanilla almond milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons nonfat, plain Greek or Icelandic yogurt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup fresh blueberries (please don't use frozen!)
• 1 pinch of salt (I use Himalayan pink salt)
• Cooking or baking spray

Blanched almond flour is finely ground with the skins of the almonds removed. It is smoother in texture, and behaves more like a traditional flour. Almond meal on the other hand, is ground with the almond skins still on, which provides more texture. 

Tools & Utensils

• Muffin pan (nonstick preferred)
• Measuring spoons and cups
• Mixing bowl
• Nonstick spatula (rubber or silicone)
• Muffin pan liners or parchment paper squares (optional - I didn't use them)

Notes

• For the 1/2 cup almond meal, you can also just use another half cup of blanched almond flour - or sub with protein powder if you're feeling muscle-y
• These muffins come out very moist. If you prefer a drier muffin, add 1-2 tablespoons of coconut flour to absorb the moisture
• Turbinado can be swapped with honey. It will make the muffins slightly more dense.
• Regular milk and butter can be used in place of the almond milk and coconut oil, but I prefer the flavor with both added in. Also, the coconut oil is part of the bliss!
• Icelandic yogurt is smoother with less bite than Greek yogurt - I buy mine from Trader Joe's. If preferred, add an extra tablespoon of coconut oil or butter instead of using yogurt.
• PLEASE USE ONLY FRESH BLUEBERRIES! Frozen blueberries have ice on them that melts into the batter - leaving you with wet muffins! #issatrap
• This recipe makes 8-9 standard-sized muffins.

These muffins are perfect for folks who don't normally eat breakfast, or for a snack!

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients (almond flour, almond meal, turbinado, sweetener alternatives, baking powder, baking soda) and mix with a non-stick rubber or silicone spatula.

Take a pinch of the dry mix and taste it for sweetness. If it's not sweet enough, add more turbinado or sugar alternative.

Mix in all wet ingredients except for the eggs. Taste again - adjust in case your batter needs more vanilla, sweetness, milk, or something fun like an extract for extra flavor. Hold on the blueberries!

Mix in your eggs last. Once you've got a batter that's a little thicker than cake batter, but not quite brownie status, you're golden!

Next, prep your muffin pan by spraying each space with nonstick cooking spray. You can skip this step if you're going to use papers. If using papers, drop them in now.

A cool hack I picked up from another baking blog helps keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom: Before mixing your blueberries in, take a tablespoon of plain batter and drop it in each tin This creates a "buffer" layer that keeps the berries from sinking so much.

Take the remaining batter and stir in your blueberries. Then, use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon (or smaller), to portion the rest of the batter into the tins.

Bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. If you're unsure, stick a toothpick through the center of one muffin. If it comes out clean, you're good.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Information (Calculated via MyFitnessPal)
Serving Size: 1 Muffin
Calories: 179
Fat: 13.8g
Carbs: 9.7g
Fiber: 2.3g
Protein: 6.1g

Note: You can decrease the amount of fat in this recipe by using egg whites only, and swapping 1/2 cup almond meal with vanilla flavored protein powder. 

For comparison purposes, a blueberry muffin from Starbucks has:
Calories: 350
Fat: 12g
Carbs: 55g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 6g 

Let me know in the comments if you'll be giving this recipe a go!

The recipe above makes a great base for any flavor of muffin. I've tried it with birthday cake flavored protein peanut butter, and another time with chocolate chips. Get creative with it! Try cinnamon swirl, pumpkin, or any other flavor your heart desires!

This post is sponsored by CURLS.

from The Mane Objective http://ift.tt/2BPhpDH