Sweet Potato Protein Muffins(Gluten Free/Fat Free/Low Carb/Refined Sugar Free)

Blogging Marathon #45: Week 2/ Day 3

Theme: Muffins/Cakes with Fruits/Vegetables

Dish: Sweet Potato Protein Muffins

For the last day of baking muffins, cakes with fruits or vegetables, I was set on a fall themed vegetable. Obviously, my choice was pumpkin and I had set my mind on it. But lately all my baking has been centered on low sugar -as much as possible and I looking through some nutrition I realized that another fall favorite, also orange fleshed - was a very healthy option. The 'sweet potato' or 'yam'. Despite having the reputation in its name of being 'sweet', the sweet potatoes are a much healthier alternative to potatoes. I tried telling my mother in law who is a diabetic to eat sweet potatoes and she gave me a look that I am talking crazy talk. It may be hard to believe, but sweet potatoes are rich in beta carotene and fiber, making them an excellent root vegetable choice.

My fall fix then shifted from pumpkins to sweet potatoes. I roasted the sweet potatoes for this recipe and I love the flavor that is rendered by the roasting. You can also go for steaming the sweet potatoes. Ultimately you want cooked, mashed sweet potatoes for this recipe. I have added protein powder and sweetened this with date puree - there by making this a sugar free recipe too. Since I have used almond flour here, it is also rich in good fats and has more protein. I have topped with some pecans, since I always love the flavors of sweet potatoes and pecans together. A very nice and filling muffin recipe.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45Ingredients:Makes 12 muffins

1 cup almond flour

10 large medjool dates, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes

1 cup mashed sweet potato

1 cup vanilla flavored protein powder

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda, heaped

1/3 cup milk or almond milk to thin the batter

pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp chopped pecans, for topping the muffins(optional)

non stick cooking spray

For roasting sweet potatoes:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wrap the sweet potatoes tightly in foil and place in the oven. Let roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a knife slides through easily. Let cool enough to handle. Open the foil, split the sweet potato by gently squishing the ends. scoop the flesh with a spoon.

For muffins:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Prepare a muffin tin by spraying with non stick cooking spray. This is important as the protein powder causes stickiness. If you have silicone muffin liners, you can use those here and skip the cooking spray.

Puree the soaked dates in a food processor. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon and puree further. Add in the mashed sweet potato. In another bowl mix together the almond flour, protein powder, salt and baking soda. Add the puree to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. If the batter is too thick add in some milk. I used up 1/3 cups of milk. Scoop the batter to the prepared muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

Verdict: The sweet potato protein muffins taste great - perfect for the fall with flavors of cinnamon, sweet potato and pecans. The date flavor is not even visible. This is a very lightly sweetened muffin. If you want, you can use a couple of tablespoons of agave nectar to sweeten it even more. I liked the sweetness as it is.