Gluten Free Banana-Nut Muffins

My husband had been experiencing some stomach pain for several years, so our family decided to go on a gluten-free diet for a month to see if it would alleviate some of the pain. Who knew that cutting out all gluten products from our diet would be such a hard task! It definitely took a couple of weeks to get used to the idea that I couldn't just go to the store and buy any of the breads/tortillas/baked goods off the shelf. Plus I wasn't willing to pay buck-o bucks for the tiniest loaf of gluten-free bread you have ever seen! So I decided to make my own gluten-free breads, muffins, biscuits, etc. for a fraction of the cost, and in my opinion they tasted a lot better than anything you could buy in the store.

I was diagnosed as a teenager with Crohn's Disease and over the years have tried a multitude of diets to help with the pain, so trying out a new way of eating was not new to me. But it was the first time we did it with the whole family...kids included! I was actually surprised how well the kids adjusted to a gluten-free diet. It seemed to be harder on us parents than it was for them! I guess the saying "Can't teach an old dog new tricks" was true for our family. :)

 

Our favorite muffin/breakfast item for that month were these delicious Banana-Nut Muffins. My husband tried them out on his co-workers and they had no clue that they were gluten-free until he told them afterward. Boy were they surprised! Not only are they gluten-free but they are very low in sugar content, low in fat (notice there is no oil in the recipe), and a very healthy option for either breakfast or a snack.

**This recipe is adapted from Elana's Pantry.

 

Gluten-Free Banana-Nut Muffin Recipe

Makes: 20-24 Prep: 15 minutes  Cooking Time: 35-40  minutes

3 ripe bananas (1 1/2 cups)
3 eggs
1 TB vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey (TIP: spray the measuring cup with cooking spray first)
1/4 cup applesauce (see HERE  how to make your own) 
2 cups Almond Flour (I use a food processor when I make mine) or a gluten-free mix (I like Arrowhead Mills ) 
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Add bananas through applesauce in a food processor and blend until smooth. 

2. Add flour through baking soda. Pulse a couple more times until you get a smooth consistency. 
3. Mix in the cranberries and nuts.

4. Either spray your muffin tins or add muffin liners. With a 1/4 cup, add batter to muffin tins.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes. You can also make this into a loaf, but then the cooking time would increase to 50 min-1 hour.

Enjoy!

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Who likes to change it up?

~Use other dried fruit like raisins, chopped dried apricots, chopped dates, or dried cherries.

~Add other nuts like chopped roasted almonds, or chopped macadamia nuts.
~Mix in 1/4-1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut.
~For an extra fiber boost add 1/4 cup flaxseed meal. 
~For every 1 egg that you want to replace in the recipe,  add 1 TB flax seed meal to 3 TB warm water, let sit for 10 minutes, and mix into batter. 
~If you don't have applesauce, feel free to replace with oil.
~Use brown sugar or maple syrup instead of honey. 
~If you don't need to be on a gluten-free diet, use whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour instead.

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