Molasses Corn Muffins

The typical corn muffin is either loaded with fat or super dry.  Theses are neither! We borrowed the base of a Martha Stewart recipe and tweaked it to make it low in sugar (no refined) and fat.  This muffin is awesome with chili, stew, or reheated for a morning quick breakfast to go. We use organic ingredients whenever possible.

Made 10 muffins (1/4 c batter in each)
Ingredients:

• 3/4 c corn meal (we use organic stone-ground)
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour (could sub out oat flour if you'd like gluten free)
• 3/4 c skim milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 3 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
• 3 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

*optional addition fresh/froze corn kernels (1/4 c) to add additional fiber

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray muffin tin with cooking spray 
2. Melt coconut oil
3. Add all ingredients into a bowl and blend
4. Using 1/4 c measurements, place into muffin tin.  Our made 10 muffins.  For the empty 2 containers, we add a little water to help the other muffins cook evenly and to prevent the pan from burning.
   
5. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
6. Let cool for 5 minutes and remove from tin and enjoy! Click here for a vegetarian chili recipe to go with these.
   

Nutritional Benefits:

Coconut Oil: no cholesterol, non-inflammatory

Molasses: high in potassium (236 mg in each muffin), iron, calcium, and low in sugar

Whole Wheat Flour: higher in fiber & protein than white flour, less refinement allows for longer digestion and less spiking of glucose levels in the blood stream

Low in Fat

Low in Sugar

Nutritional Information per muffin:

Calories: 119

Fat: 5 g

Carbs: 15 g

Fiber: 1.4 g

Protein: 3 g

Pumpkin Muffins-gluten free

Made with oat flour, these super fast muffins are an awesome side dish to stews, soups, or to pop and go in the morning! Packed with potassium and Vitamin A-how can you go wrong? They're also low in fat and sugar (with no processed sugars).  Kid approved!

Makes: 12        Prep and Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 c oat flour (or other flour)-to make pulse 2 c rolled oat in a blender, measure out 2 c
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger

• 3/4 c pumpkin
• 1/4 c maple syrup
• 3 tbsp molasses
• 1/2 cup milk (we used skim, but could use almond or soy) + 2 tbsp
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 c apple sauce

Ad-ins: pecans, fresh cranberries, chopped apple, dried cranberries, and/or chocolate chips (totaling about 3/4 c)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into a mixer or blender
4. Add in dry ingredients
5. Mix until blended.  Add optional ingredients (we added 3/4 c cranberries-fyi they're tart)
6. Pour into muffin cups and bake about 15-20 minutes until tester comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes and remove from pan.  Serve warm or at room temp.  These will freeze well!
7. Serve with this chicken stew below.
   

Nutritional Benefits:

• Packed with Potassium (2664 mg) & Vitamin A (150% of daily value in entire batch)
• Low in Fat (only 14 g in entire batch)
• Low in Sugar
• High in Antioxidants
• Good Source of Vitamin C (cranberries)
• Gluten Free
• Anti-inflammatory

Nutritional Information in Entire Batch Made With Cranberries:

Calories: 1340 (each muffin=112)

Fat: 29g (2.4g/muffin)

Carbs: 245g (20g/muffin)

Fiber: 18g (1.5/muffin)

Protein: 36g (3g/muffin)

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread (oat flour/gluten free)

All things pumpkin! Yum-we love the delicious, warming tastes of fall!  We've been trying to reduce our flour intake to see if it helps us with inflammation. So far, we feel better.  I've adapted a traditional recipe to reduce the amount of fat and sugar.  We replaced oats with the flour traditionally called for in the recipe.  If you'd like to make your own oat flour, which we did, put 2 c rolled oats into a blender for about 1-2 minutes until they form a flour. You'll have a little left over.

Ingredients:

• 1 c pumpkin puree
• 2 c oat flour (or you could use traditional flour)*use certified gluten free oats if you need
• 1/4 c applesauce (no sugar)
• 1/2-3/4 cup of honey (we used 3/4, but could definitely reduce to 1/2)
• 1/4 c water
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c cranberries (we buy them now when in season and freeze them for the year)

Instructions:

1. Grind oats in blender if making your own flour and measure out 2 cups
2. Place all ingredients into a mixer 
3. Pour into a greased loaf pan (we used a large pan).  This is enough for 1 large pan (9x5) or 8.5x4 plus a mini loaf pan
   
4. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour 15 min or until tester comes out clean

Nutritional Benefits:

• Good Source of Vitamin A (pumpkin): helps in bone and teeth strength, healing, and blood circulation
• Good Source of Vitamin C (cranberries): cranberries are an awesome source of this healing/disease preventing vitamin
• Anti-inflammatory: oats and above vitamins help to reduce inflammation, aiding in heart & dental health
• Low in fat: no added oils, better for heart health
• Reduced sugar, no refined sugars: helps decrease blood sugar spikes
• High in Fiber and Calcium (oats): oats are high in both of these, as well as taking longer for the body to digest.  This helps to regulate blood sugar spikes.  Oats are also anti-inflammatory