Paleo Banana Blueberry Muffins

I am a huge "pastry" fan. I dont eat them much anymore, simply because I could just eat pasty all day long and gain 5,000 lbs easy. When I was a kid I ate a lot of baked goods for breakfast... My mom would even make me my own confetti cake (no frosting) and I would have it for a weeks worth of breakfasts and snacks. I could house pop tarts, muffins, toaster strudels for days. I gave it all up, for the most part... when I changed my life a few years ago. Its still one of my hardest hurdles when someone brings something to work to share or we have a meeting and they are on the conference table.

We like to have a real breakfast, together, as a family on Sunday mornings. Its the only day that we are all together. Often times I make waffles or pancakes and Hubs makes eggs and bacon. I have a great paleo waffle recipe (really simple) and I look for new things to try all the time. I try to make them healthy and as clean as possible. This is for Z's benefit too!

This weekend we had breakfast with #2 and her family! I wanted to bring along a baked good... because thats what I do... and decided since I love blueberry muffins... that I would give them a shot! This recipe is great. They were "moist" and delicious! Give them a shot!

Recipe: Paleo Banana Blueberry Muffins

Website: bakerita.com/paleo-banana-blueberry-muffins

Ingredients:

4 Bananas

4 Eggs

1/2 C Almond Butter

4 Tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)

1/2 C Coconut Flour

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Vanilla

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 Container of Blueberries (approximately 1-1/2 C)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 and line muffin tins with liners. This recipe made 31 muffins for me.

Mash the bananas with a hand mixer. Add eggs, coconut oil, vanilla and nut butter. Mix well. Add the coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix again. Fold in blueberries with a spatula.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then remove from the pan and let cool on a rack completely.

I would refrigerate these if you don’t eat them all right away. I find blueberry muffins don’t keep for a very long time. 

Paleo Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

If these tasted as good as they smelled when they where baking I knew I was going to have a big hit on my hands! Always looking for a yummy bite size snack that is delish and not filled with sugar.

I made these for week number three of the Open 2014 for CrossFit Wachusett. Cant wait to see how much everyone likes them.

The original recipe is HERE. They made 9 large muffins with the recipe. I wanted to make mini muffins to share with the gym peeps... plus I think its more fun to have bite size goodies!! The recipe mad 48 mini muffins.

I put the recipe into My Fitness Pal and this is the result of one mini muffin:  Cal. 63, Carb 8g, Fat 4g, Protein 2g.

What You Need:

3 Bananas

3 Eggs

1/4 C Maple Syrup

1 Tsp Vanilla

1/2 C Almond Butter (I used salted)

1/4 C Coconut Flour

1/4 Tsp Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

Chopped Walnuts (however much you want)

Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (however much you want)

What You Do:

- Preheat Oven to 350

- Mash bananas with a fork so they are still slightly chunky

- Add eggs, syrup, almond butter and vanilla and  mix with hand mixer

- Sift coconut flour into mix than add cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder and hand mix together

- Add chocolate chips and walnuts, I grinded my walnuts in the food processor to make them really small

- Use mini muffin cups or coat the inside of a mini muffin tray with coconut oil (really really well)

- Fill cups/tin with a tablespoon each of batter

- Bake for 10 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean), leave in pan to cool to touch and than flip out of pan onto cooling rack.

 

Creamy Chicken Verde Bake and Sweet Potato Banana Mashed

Whats on the menu? Creamy Chicken Verde Bake (find it HERE) and because they are kick ass and delish  Sweet Potato Banana Mashed (find it HERE) again!

How easy was it to make? This was the easiest thing I have made over the last few weeks. The hardest part honestly was going to Market Basket for the stuff to make it. I hate that store. I usually stop at Hannaford and on a Friday night its usually not too bad. Well, I heard that Market Basket had coconut flour on sale and since I was going to be making dessert for the gym I needed to get there to get some. Thats shiz is expensive and I was almost all out. Anyway. What a zoo. Plus, even though I have "Grocery Store Anxiety" (yes that is self diagnosed) I have an easier time with Hannaford because I know the store and I know where to get the stuff we typically buy. One would have thought they were giving shit away at Market Basket. It was horrific.

Anyway. Once I got home the prep of the chicken was quick and the coconut milk and salsa verde couldnt have been any easier. I didnt really get the point of the arrow root powder. I know that it isused to thicken sauces, but I honestly dont think it did much of anything. I think next time I would use a little less of either the salsa or the coconut milk, it was a little thin. I also used boneless skinless and not thighs.

So... how was it? I thought it was excellent. Hubs said that he really liked it a lot and went as far as saying "you can make this one again." So I think it goes in the keep pile for sure. Along with the Cottage Pie. I will post that one again someday.

Will I make it again? Yepper! For Sure! Next time I will remember to add the cilantro after its done!

Baked Chicken with Artichoke Sundried Tomato Tapenade and Sweet Potato Banana Mashed

Whats on the menu? Baked Chicken with Artichoke Sundried Tomato Tapenade (find it HERE) and Sweet Potato Banana Mashed (find it HERE)

How easy was it to make? Well, I have to say, I am afraid of chicken. I dont like to make it because I am scared that I am going to under cook it.  This was quite an adventure for me. So I started to mix up the tapenade ingredients as they are listed in the recipe and I wasnt really happy. The quantities of the ingredients were hard to understand (because I didnt know if it was before or after chopping them up or whatever) so I just started to eyeball it. I mixed everything in the food processor first except for the artichoke, than added that slowly. I tasted it than added things I thought it needed more of. Than I followed the rest of the recipe for the salt, pepper and garlic on the chicken... than the tapenade... than in the oven with olive oil.

The sweet potato was easy peasy... mostly because we had some already mashed in the fridge. I just popped the bananas in the convection oven for 15 minute at 400 with holes poked in (as it instructed) than mashed them into the sweet potatos as I heated them up.

Hubs came home and everything was timed out right. It was done.

Going in the Oven

So... how was it? I am sure hubs will give his honest opinion as well, but I thought overall it was pretty good! The chicken had sort of a weird consistency I think because it was baked in the oil. I am so used to crock pot chicken that has been in the fridge a few days so that could be it too. It was really "moist" (damn I hate that word). The tapenade had great flavor... the only thing that could have made it better was cheese, but I didnt use any. The sweet potato... all I have to say is YUM! I thought they were great and it was really nice to have something a little different from the normal sweet potato that I have all week.

Will I make it again? I think this one can go it the "yes" pile on both accounts. The chicken and the sweet potato!

Get in my Belly!

Banana Almond Bites

These are fantastic. I had to alter the original recipe a bit since we don’t eat peanut butter… also I make them in mini muffin cups because I couldn’t get them out of the tin. They are wonderful when they are frozen!!

The base recipe came from here... http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.cfm/2012/3/21/peanut-butter-banana-cups

*Disclaimer: though the chocolate chips are dairy, nut and soy free they are not considered totally Paleo, so if you are doing a Paleo Challenge or staying completely 100% Paleo this recipe will cost you points.*

What you need:
- 1 ripe banana

- 3/4 cup almond butter (I use Trader Joes with Sea Salt)

- 2 tablespoons honey

- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

- 2 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil, melted

- Half bag of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

What you do:
- Mix everything but the banana together (I used my Ninja for this and it worked like a charm)

- Fill mini muffin tin with liners

- Cover the bottom with a thin later of batter

- Add a slice of banana

- Cover banana with batter

- Put in freezer for half an hour

- Melt half a bag of chocolate chips on stove top

- Dollop chocolate on each almond butter cup and return to freezer until serving

These guys melt fast so they should be kept in the fridge when not being eaten. 

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Paleo Banana Bread Muffins

Original recipe comes from Robb Wolfe, http://robbwolf.com/2011/04/21/recipe-paleo-banana-bread/, I tried it first as a loaf, but prefer the muffins. This makes 15 muffins.

*Disclaimer: Honey is considered Paleo in moderation. If doing a Paleo Challenge check the "rules" of your challenge to be sure that it s allowed in moderation or risk losing points.*

What you need:

- 2 cups almond flour

- 1/4 cup flax seed meal

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 2/3 cup pecans

- 4 really ripe bananas

- 2 tbsp honey

- 4 eggs

- 1 tsp vanilla

 

What you do:
- Preheat oven to 375

- Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl

- Mash bananas in a food processor or masher

- Mix all wet ingredients together with bananas in a separate bowl from dry

 

- Make a well in the dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and fold together

 

- Grease muffin pan with coconut oil

- Fill each muffin about 3/4 of the way up

 

- Bake for 20-25 minutes (or until toothpick is clean)

Paleo Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

These have to be my FAVORITE breakfast!!

They were the first Paleo breakfast we tried and we make them a lot!! Got the original recipe HERE.

*Disclaimer: though the chocolate chips are dairy, nut and soy free they are not considered totally Paleo, so if you are doing a Paleo Challenge or staying completely 100% Paleo this recipe will cost you points.*

What you need:
- 1/2 Cup Almond Butter
- 1 Ripe Banana
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tsp Vanilla
- Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
- Dash of  Cinnamon

What you do:
- Preheat griddle to 350 degrees
- Slice up banana really thin (which makes it easier to mix)
- Mix everything else together except for chips
- Make pancakes in a size you desire and sprinkle chips onto each on right away
- Cook as you would a "normal" pancake, let the edges bubble, than flip.

ENJOY! They are sooooooo yummy!!

Paleo Blueberry Banana Brownies

These are soooo good! I got the recipe at www.civilizedcavemancooking.com/2011/04/blueberry-banana-brownies.html.  I have used both Light and Regular Agave, and the second time I made them I used a whole bag of chips rather than just one cup. I was also told by someone else who made them that you can substitute the agave with honey. You can also leave out the blueberries... or substitute with another fruit... be creative!

What you need:
2 Cups Almond Butter
2 Eggs
1 Cup Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Dried Blueberries
1 Ripe Banana

What you do:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Blend almond butter till smooth
- Blend in eggs
- Blend in agave and vanilla
- Blend in salt and baking soda
- Slowly blend in cocoa powder
- Hand mix blueberries and chips
- Slice up banana into really thin pieces and hand mix
- Use coconut oil to grease 13X9 Pan
- Bake 35-40 min (test with toothpick)