Coconut Flour Zucchini Muffins(Gluten Free/Refined Sugar Free/Low Carb)

Blogging Marathon #45: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Muffins/Cakes with Fruits/Vegetables

Dish:Coconut Flour Zucchini Muffins

I took a break in the month of September as all of my other blogging marathon buddies were doing a mega marathon, and I was too busy visiting their blogs and being awed at how they managed to pull something of that caliber. I did have some time to prepare for this Blogging Marathon, and I took this an opporutnity to challenge myself. The first theme I picked was 'Muffins or Cakes with Fruits/Veggies'. I added on that I will make the muffins I make low carb, low in sugar, but full of flavor.

My first attempt was to make Zucchini muffins using coconut flour. These muffins are naturally sweetened with the addition of mashed banana and is made moist by the coconut oil and the agave nectar. If you have never used coconut flour, the flour absorbs a lot of liquid and if you don't provide it that moisture, you may end up with dry hockey puck liked muffins. I modified this recipe from a banana bread recipe that used coconut flour - but I had made many substitutions that it didn't even resemble the original recipe. I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious these muffins turned out to be.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45Ingredients:Makes 6-8 muffins

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda, heaped

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1 tbsp agave nectar

1/2 cup shredded zucchini(squeezed of all the moisture)

1/2 banana, mashed

2 tsp coconut oil, melted

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

non stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with non stick cooking spray, place muffin liners and spray the muffin liners with non stick cooking spray. Alternatively you can skip the muffin liners and the cooking spray and use silicone muffin moulds if you have them. The muffins ended up sticking to the liners, so don't skip the spray.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl, add in the agave nectar, coconut oil, vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Add in the mashed banana. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: coconut flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix to combine. Fold in the grated zucchini and the walnuts.

Place in the prepared muffin cups and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Serve warm!

Verdict: This muffin is rich in fiber and protein and full of nutrients from the zucchini and the banana. These days when looking at any food item, the selling points are not what it contains, but rather what it doesn't contain. In that way - this muffin is gluten free, refined sugar free and low carb and for all that it is so damn delicious!