Breakfast Egg Muffins - grain free, gluten free, starch free

It was a very nice long weekend and I realize when I come back home and get back to routine how much my baking is missed.

When it comes to lunches if I haven't been making anything there is really nothing to eat besides carrot sticks and canned fish.

It's difficult being Grain Free and eating breakfast on the go, especially when you get down to 17DD as the regular grain free indulgences all of a sudden become non existent.

Your main source of breakfast food becomes eggs and yogurt in Cycle 1.Yogurt is fine but eggs on the go? Boiled eggs are only fun for about a week. 

I make a fair bunch of fritatta and egg casseroles but even those can be troublesome to eat when you're driving to work with a delicious hot steaming coffee.

SO ... I had a VISION!

What if I was able to make a delicious breakfast muffin! Not just a muffin like all of my other recipes, but a BREAKFAST muffin.

We're talking Eggs, cheese, turkey bacon, scallions oh yum.

I looove my lemon, cranberry, whey powder muffins. They are great. But sweet muffins with sweet yogurt and sweet coffee is not for every day.

Here is a fabulous way to eat a balanced breakfast, grain free, starch free, and without additional carbs.

I love how you don't need a mixer or a food processor, to complete these. 

You can obviously pick many different savory flavors to complete these muffins.

I stuck to my basics. 

I used the silicon and the paper baking cups to make them easier to remove from the pan without sticking. You could omit these by using coconut oil or butter to grease the muffin tins.

I added some whey powder to the recipe to make them more "cakey" other than "eggy" and I quite liked it. You may need to adjust seasonings accordingly to make up for flavors, and sweetened or unsweetened whey powder.

Using the whey powder in the muffin will also cause them to "rise" similar to a regular muffin. Without the whey powder you will probably have fairly flat muffins.

If you want to omit the whey powder completely it will be totally fine. To substitute the whey powder I would recommend coconut flour.

This brings me to my 4th 17DD safe recipe!!!

4. Breakfast Muffins - grain free, starch free, dairy free, gluten free

In a glass bowl scramble together:

6 organic eggs/whites equal to

1 C coconut Milk/Dairy Milk/Cream/Almond Milk

1 t sea salt

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t onion powder

dash of paprika

Add to egg mixture:

 

1/2 C finely chopped vegetables.

• scallions, bell peppers, pimentos, mushrooms, tomatoes etc.

4 slices turkey/chicken bacon fried crisp and diced (ham, bacon, sausage etc)

1 cold 4 oz cream cheese brick chopped into pieces (1 C old cheddar cheese)

Mix the filling into the egg mixture and scramble as you would an omelet. You want to leave the cream cheese in pieces as it will melt in the oven.

Slowly scoop in 3 T unsweetened whey powder or 2 T coconut flour

Mix all ingredients together and pour into greased or paper lined muffin cups. Fill 2/3 full and bake.

Bake at 400 degrees for 13-18 minutes. Just until the top is firm, and starting to brown.

Let cool for 10 minutes before eating.

Cranberry, Lemon Whey Powder Muffins - grain free, sugar free

I am so excited about this recipe! 

Sometimes I come across good recipes and I put them aside because either I have them in mind for sometime special, I need a specific ingredient, or I am unsure of the outcome. I was even more excited to try this recipe because I got to use my NEW food processor!!!!!!

I found a very similar recipe not too long ago. I book marked it, and put it aside for that special day. 

My beloved husband the other day was excited to say we had enough air miles finally to buy something. He saw this fantastic Compost that he really really wanted (lol I know). It may seem silly but it's about 129$ to buy it in store and 99$ on sale. I think it's a little absurd how much they cost when they are totally plastic and just sit there. 

So he ordered it ( so exciting!) and then I of course was bugging him about what I was going to receive from MY hard earned air miles... (hint, hint). There was nothing that I really NEEDED except:

1. Icecream machine
2. Food Processor
I of course have a fantastic food processor. It's not even that old I got it at my bridal shower. It has become my favorite tool (besides my beloved fancy Kitchenaid mixer), especially after gluten free. I find almost every recipe if not in my mixer is in my processor being pureed and emulsified.
3 Days after we placed the order for the processor it was going to take 4-6 weeks for it to arrive. Today, sitting there with my coffee in peace and quiet. Door bell rings.

MY FOOD PROCESSOR WAS DELIVERED TODAY OMG!!!
It's so shiny and perfect! Look it even has a special box for all of the attachments. I was even more excited because when I opened the box I realized it was the fancy pancy one on TV. The one I always dreamed of having but never would due to it being 289$ (and I was complaining about the compost lol).

I honestly never even thought about it but I didn't even look at the processor on the website when Kyle was telling me about it. I just heard the specifics and was sold. I didn't care, honestly mine is like 30$ originally and I have to puree most things in two batches. It's like a 6 cup this one is a 13 cup. It also comes with two different bowl sizes and the small bowl that you use for beating egg whites is the size of my old processor lol.

It's a sad day when an appliance moves on. It has got me through every fad diet and recipe I have ever tried. RIP. Mom, I am giving it to you!!! I heard you need one.

There is is the shiny new one beside my old retired one.. sad:(

Not too long ago (12 days ago) I was sitting on a beach in Mexico soaking up too much vitamin D and eating too much bad food (gluten free of course). Since then I haven't been feeling quite the same as I did before. We have decided to go and follow cycle 1 of the 17DD and see if it makes a difference. 

The problem that I always have following cycle 1 is lunch time and snacks. Lunch time is hard when there is no crackers, bread, tortilla, granola, cereal, biscuits, etc. 

And I get tired of yogurt pretty fast when it comes to snacks.. lol. 

So, I was determined on my day off today to sit at the computer until I came up with great ideas for baked items that taste delicious and are completely compliant.

Though, I spend most of my life eating grain free, when it comes to baking I use nut flours, coconut flour and some starches for the base.

Without these what is left? I cant use beans, pumpkin puree, zuchinni puree, beets, potatos or any sort of base that I am familiar with. 

If I told you to come up with a recipe to make muffins without flour or meal of ANY kind would be able to do it? 

Ugh so frustrated and hungry I sat there. I searched on Google and through all of my great books.

I will be listing 17 recipes over the next 20 days as I prepare and start my cycle 1. It's important I am able to show you that you can be compliant, eat well and not get depressed like I have so many times. 

Are you familiar with whey protein -------------------->

It's a great alternative when it comes to baking without using flours or starches. It can be tricky though, it reacts completely different than flours and you can receive a very unpredicted result.
We happen to have a huge container of it left over from when Kyle would take a protein shake every morning. I am glad we didn't throw it out as it's crazy expensive and lasts years.

I was also excited to discover the one we had is gluten free, sugar free, with no preservatives, dyes, flavors or anything unnatural.

So my first experiment today was to try making muffins. 

I looooove muffins. I have many muffin recipes but not one that uses whey or only whey for the main ingredient. I took a combination of a recipe that I found and a recipe that I have used traditionally with almond flour.
They are deffinetly different, but actually GOOD different. They taste like angel food cake and have a texture very similar to it. 

I ate one hot out of the oven with butter and I was actually very surprised. Let me know what you think.

 

#1 Cranberry Lemon Muffins - Whey powder

gluten free, grain free, low lactose, sugar free

*You will need to use muffin liners or silicon liners for this recipe

In a food processor or mixer bowl combine:

1 C psylium husk, flax meal, or almond flour (almond flour not on 17DD)

1 C xylitol, stevia, or sucralose** (if whey powder is sweetened hold back on sweetener)

1 t organic corn free baking powder

1/2 t aluminum free baking soda

1 1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/8 t ground nutmeg

1 t sea salt

In a glass measuring cup mix until blended:

1/2 C plain organic greek yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt cheese

1/2 C water

1/4 C melted organic butter, coconut oil

1 t real vanilla extract

2 organic eggs

1 T organic lemon juice or more if desired

Pulse dry ingredients until mixed. Slowly while mixer is running pour in wet ingredients. Scrape down sides well. While mixer is running slowly parts at a time add in whey powder.

1 C unsweetened plain or vanilla whey powder

Add 1/2 C whole fresh or re hydrated cranberries

Pulse until well blended. Whey powder will cause the batter to thicken, clump together and be very shiny. Make sure there is no lumps.

In a cupcake pan lined with 12 parchment paper liners pour in muffin batter until 2/3 full. They will rise quite a lot, but will shrink back down upon cooling. Adding too much batter will cause the muffins to stick together, so if needed use 2 pans for baking.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.

The muffins will fall quite considerably once removed from the oven (similar to a souffle) as there is no starch or flour in the mix to hold them up. They may look funny, but they taste pretty darn good.

Fruit and Nut muffins. ...................... and... veggies too!

Of course!!!!! Who doesn't like fruit and nut muffins?? Well, sadly I came across this recipe and I had to try it. But I believe in low sugar, low calories, and grain free with low carbs so this recipe was challenging to change as I had to use different things then what the recipe called for. I had to use low sugar fruit and low sugar vegetables and neutral vegetables that would not change the taste but add density and moisture. AND of course the ratios are all different, so what part of the recipe stayed the same?? WELL... LET ME SEE. I actually think just the name! and sadly I can't even take credit for the name as I have managed to sneak in seeds instead of nuts and vegetables AS WELL as fruit. So let's call them veg, fruit and seed muffins. 

These are a good way to use up anything you feel may fit into them. You can just substitute using the same measurements. I would however not recommend a really wet fruit unless you are prepared to add more flax meal. 

These muffins are completely flourless and the base is flax meal. The bonus? Low carb, good for you easy on your pocket book :) I expect you to make these once you have hit the end of your grocery budget at the month and all you have left is a wimpy carrot and a bruised apple. 

Fruit and Nut Muffins:

1 C of fruit grated

• 1/2 C unpeeled organic scrubbed carrots
• 1 C organic grated Gala apple (I recommend using organic apples if you are not going to peel it)

You could use zuchinni, eggplant, beets for the vegetable. You could use crushed pineapple, strawberries, cherries, pears etc.

Mix dry ingredients:

1 1/2 C flax meal

1/2 C chopped raw walnuts/ground almonds/ chestnuts/pecans/dry roasted pumpkin seeds/hulled hemp seeds.  

• I used hulled hemp seeds, just because I have a ton of them that need to get used up and the health benefits are way too good to ignore.

1 1/2 t aluminum free baking soda

1/2 t sea salt

1 T cinnamon

1/4 C palm sugar/ brown sugar sucralose blend

Mix wet ingredients:

2 t real vanilla extract

1 T organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar/real lemon juice

4 eggs

1/4 C raw agave nectar

1/4 C warm filtered water

Blend wet ingredients into dry while mixer is turning. Spoon in vegetable and fruit mix and stir well. Grease Muffin tin well with grape seed oil or use parchment baking cups.

Scoop muffin cups 2/3 full and mound. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 min. Makes 12-15 muffins.

**Batter should be wet but stick together. If mix is too dry add more water. if it's too wet add more flax meal. This will vary depending on the produce used and the climate and elevation.**

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins :) - Gluten free, grain free, low lactose, sugar free

I looooooove muffins. 

We eat muffins as our main, dessert, snack, breakfast, or on the go. It's become what we munch on instead of bread, sandwiches or buns. So therefore, I am making weekly muffins. 

I am excited and yet exhausted trying to think up different muffin recipes and combinations as cranberry muffins gets old. So.. Here is what I have come up with lately.

Lemon poppy seed muffins. YUM! They are easy as you don't need to have any fruit readily available and I always have lemon juice.

So... I was excited to experiment with a vanilla muffin base this time instead of a bran of flax base. I also am avoiding almond flour currently unless it is necessary so this is what I came up with.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Mix dry ingredients:

1/4 C plus 2 T organic coconut flour

1 T aluminum free baking soda

1/2 t sea salt

1/2 C Sucralose or 6 pkg of Stevia

2 T flax meal or 1 T ground Chia meal

1 T poppy seeds

1/4 t Gluten free xanthum Gum

1 lemon zested

Mix wet ingredients:

3 T fresh lemon juice

1/4 t lemon extract (optional)

3 eggs

2 t real vanilla extract

1/4 C grapeseed oil/melted clarified butter

1/4 C plain natural yogurt (unsweetened) or sour cream

Mix wet ingredients into dry thoroughly and let stand 1 min. Grease the muffin tins very well or use parchment liners. Batter will become frothy from the baking soda and will be slightly frothy and bubbly. Lightly scoop the batter into muffin tins half way full without beating or squishing the frothy texture. (this will keep the muffins light and airy).

Bake for 18 min @ 350 degrees. Makes 9 muffins. Double for 18 muffins.

**When cooking with coconut flour please expect your batter and dough to be twice as wet as regular dough as the coconut flour will suck up 3 times its volume in liquid. If you don't have enough liquid you end up with VERY dry unapetizing food. It's better to have too much moisture and then have to cook the recipe longer compared to not enough.**

These muffins are light and delicious. I have made it my mission to make coconut flour moist and delectable. Most coconut recipes I find leave me with a disappointed dry tasting muffin. If you are in a moist climate such as "British Columbia" You may want to use 1/2 C organic coconut flour if your batter is soupy.

"Bran" Muffins - Gluten free, Sugar free, Dairy free

I was really enjoying my oatmeal raisin cookies today. I have never actually like them but my recipe is so divine they have become my new favorite. However the ginger snaps are so delicious I may have eaten all of them already lol. I cannot believe how delicious they are. I cannot wait to get invited somewhere so I can bring some fantastic cookies yum!

So I really wanted a muffin today. I opened the fridge to sneak one of my cranberry muffins and low and behold I was already beaten to them. I was briefly sad, as I love the idea of having to make some more. 

I was down to my last bag of frozen cranberries. We went crazy and bought them all after Christmas and just froze them. I get about 2 batches of muffins out of one bag so they have lasted a long time. I am hoping to make it until Easter so they will have lots of Cranberries out again and I can pick them up right after the holiday for a bargain. 

Soo.. I was thinking about muffins. One of my most favorite muffins has always been the bran muffin. It`s soft and tender, chewy and moist. 

Alas, I had to stop eating them once I discovered that they were about 285 calories for 1!!!!!!!

So.... I have probably gone bran muffinless for  about 2 years. Now of course, I can never eat a bran muffin again due to all of the glutenous products that make up those lovely dense bundles of joy. 

But if I am able to make ginger snaps out of pumpkin puree, and chocolate cake out of beans then why the heck can I not make muffins that taste like bran muffins?

So of course I was so excited to think of a new muffin recipe.

I am very proud to say this recipe took me only one shot, one try no adjusting whatsoever. Perfectly done and all of the measurements were divine. I am so proud of myself! 

I think back to just October when I was so depressed that I could never eat anything if I couldn't have wheat. No buns, no bread, no french toast, no pancakes, no waffles, no chocolate cake, no cookies. HAHA I have completely conquered that notion and I will never go back!

Back in October I had tried a few recipes but I was really ignorant of all of the alternative flours out there and where to get them. Also, I had no idea how to make anything. So I would search and search for a recipe and try it and be so sad when it tasted like crap and was dumbfounded as where to go from there. Never thought I would be standing here with a blog and a pile of recipes that not just me, but lots of people are enjoying. 

I have read a ton of books, I follow a TON of blogs and I have watched a crap load of videos and have come along way with my knowledge. Without it, I would still be standing here crying that I will never eat a hot dog again... or a bran muffin :)

So I did some searching for "Grain Free Bran Muffins". Of course I knew the first few recipes I would stumble upon would be made from almond flour. Low and behold I did not go disappointed. Every recipe was 3 Cups of almond flour. YIKES. 

I love almond flour don't get me wrong, but 3 C of it will give you about 12 muffins if you are lucky. PLUS, the calories will be quite high though the health benefits of the flour will be very great and low in carbs, it's not worth it for me. 

I have tried muffins with coconut flour. They are not bad, but they don't taste muffin like to me, they are more cupcake like. I wanted a hearty, chewy bran muffin. 

Now I know that I used oat meal in these, but it's a low amount and anything under a 1/2 C is insignificant on the Glycemic index. Since one muffin will not contain 1/2 C it's good to go the way they are. This is one of the only grains that I still consume from time to time. I will have to list my delicious breakfast cereal and granola for you to try soon. I find after I eat potatos or rice per say I feel sluggish and slow and very full for hours. Oatmeal doesn't do that to me so I am pleased to keep it in my diet. I don't buy the Kosher Gluten Free Oats because contaminated foods have never bothered me. If you want to you can double up on the almond flour or on anything else you feel like throwing in if you would rather not eat it. I think it's the perfect texture and taste for a bran muffin.

So I whipped out my food processor and this is what I came up with:

"Bran" Muffins - Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free

In a mixing bowl or food processor combine:

1 1/2 C ground flax meal

1/2 C gluten free oat bran/quick oats

1/2 C ground almonds**/walnuts/blanched almond flour

1 1/2 t aluminum free baking soda

1/2 t sea salt

1/2 C sucralose/palm sugar

2 T cinnamon

In a glass measuring cup mix together:

1 T organic apple cider vinegar/real lemon juice

1/4 C unsweetened apple sauce

3 eggs plus 2 T egg whites

1 T sugar free breakfast syrup/maple syrup**

1/4 C warm water

1 T real vanilla extract 

1/4 C grapeseed oil/coconut oil/melted butter

Mix dry ingredients until well combined. Slowly pour in wet ingredients as mixer is turning. 

Add 1/2 C sultana raisins/chopped apple slices/chopped pitted dates

Gently pulse until raisins are just folded in. It will be very thick and firm. That is what you want, if the batter is too watery it won't set up.

Scoop into a well greased muffin tin with grapeseed oil. Fill the cups only half way as the batter will double in the oven. Sprinkle 3-4 raisins on top of each cup and sprinkle with palm sugar. MMM... Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min. Let cool completely before removing from the pan in order to keep them intact.

**I used ground raw natural almonds. You can substitute with blanched almond flour but I like to save on costs wherever possible. You will however get the same result. I used sugar free pancake syrup unflavored. It just gives them a flavor that they would be lacking otherwise, If you omit this you may want to sweeten with some stevia as they will be bland. **

These looked so fantastic in the oven. I always check a new recipe at about 6 min into bake time. If the batter hasn't puffed up by that time, there is something wrong with the mix. I was very happy to say they were golden brown and puffy. My favorite part was the delicious crunchy raisins on top. I may have eaten all of the loose ones off. lol  The muffins will bake exactly shaped as they go in the oven so if your batter looks all bumpy and crazy you will have very interesting looking muffins. But I don't care.

Oat - Banana Bread - Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Sugar Free

 I am so very excited about this recipe. It can be made into a delicious loaf for a treat or small muffins for breakfast. Please note for true gluten free oats they must be certified kosher.

Oat- Banana Muffins (gluten, wheat, sugar free)

1 C oat bran                                    ¾  Milk/coconut milk/soy/almond
1 C quick oats                                     4 T agave nectar or raw coconut sap
½ C flax meal                                      ¼ C unsweetened apple sauce
1 T poppy seeds                                               1 egg
¼ C Chopped nuts (walnuts)                          2 T oil grapeseed oil
½ t salt                                                  2 mashed ripe bananas
¼ C chopped dark chocolate  78%                 warm water
1 T cinnamon                                    
Pinch all spice or nutmeg and ginger      

             

Mix dry ingredients. Blend wet ingredients. Combine and mix well let stand 10 minutes. Add enough water to make batter smooth. Bake in greased muffin tin without papers or
350 degrees for 35 min.