Orange Almond Olive Oil Muffins {Grain Free}

I made these muffins this weekend and the whole family loved them. The combination of toasted almonds and fresh orange zest and juice made for a bright and exciting pop of flavor. A surprising bonus to baking these little guys was the delightful smell of orange that filled the entire house.

I adopted the idea for this recipe from a cook book my mom gave to me: 'Giada's Feel Good Food'. Since the original recipe utilized flour and my body doesn't seem to like flour I chose to change the recipe to accommodate the use of coconut flour instead. I felt like a happy scientist in the kitchen coming up with the proper ratios for everything. And I'm thrilled to say I love the way these muffins turned out!

Orange Almond Olive Oil Muffins {Made with Coconut Flour}

Makes 10 Muffins

Ingredients

6 eggs

4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp plain greek yogurt

6 Tbsp pure local honey

Grated zest of 1 medium orange

1/3 cup fresh orange juice at room temperature 

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup almond flour 

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5-6 minutes. 

Using a hand mixer on medium speed, in a bowl beat the eggs and honey together until the color is pale, about 1 minute. Beat in the orange zest and orange juice, almond extract, vanilla extract, greek yogurt and olive oil. 

In a small separate bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt until combined. 

In small batches using the hand mixer add the flour mixture to the egg mixture until fully blended. Then with a spoon gently fold in 1/3 cup of the toasted almonds. Lightly oil muffin liners with olive oil and pour the batter to just the top of the liners. Sprinkle the remaining toasted almonds on the top of the muffin batter. Bake from 15 to 18 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and toothpick come out clean or with moist crumbs attached. 

Enjoy!

With Love,

Christina 

My Favorite Way to Eat Oatmeal

Oatmeal is my most visited breakfast staple. And while I've prepared it all sorts of ways from {honey and almond butter} to {blueberries, maple syrup and cinnamon}, my most favorite way to prepare it is with coconut oil, honey, salt, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. It makes for a clean tasting, simple, uncluttered, elegant start to the day.

Coconut oil is a healthy and delicious fat loaded with a whole slew of health benefits. 

My toddler eats what I eat in the morning and he loves this version of oatmeal. Of course he prefers his with raisins and his Elmo spoon. 

--  Elegant Vanilla Oatmeal  --

serves 2

Ingredients

1 Cup - Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Small pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure local honey

1 tablespoon quality coconut oil

6-8 shakes of cinnamon 

Splash of milk {I like whole milk for it's creaminess but any milk will work nicely. Or since the coconut oil adds a creamy richness on it's own the milk may be omitted for a vegan friendly option}

Instructions

Cook the oats on the stovetop according to the package instruction. Add the salt to the water before placing in the oats. Once the oatmeal is cooked remove from heat and add in the remaining ingredients. Stir and serve.

Enjoy!

With Love,

Christina 

Blueberry Honey Vanilla Pancakes - Made with Coconut Flour

Do you ever find yourself in a breakfast rut? A few weeks ago I found myself in just that a seriouse breakfast rut. I was basically having oatmeal everyday. Don't get me wrong, I love me some oatmeal but I needed to do something to shake up my mornings and make them more exciting. So in efforts to pull myself from my boring breakfast routine I've committed myself to making new imaginative and exciting creations for the most important meal of the day. I've come up with and discovered some breakfast goodies that are easy to make, healthy and most importantly delicious. So I've decided to post and share recipes to my breakfast experiments every Monday for the next several Mondays. I hope you can find some of these recipes useful in spicing up your mornings too. Here's the first breakfast dish: It's grain free Blueberry Honey Vanilla Pancakes made with coconut flour.

Blueberry Honey Vanilla Pancakes

makes 12-14 pancakes 

Pancake Ingredients 

4 pasture eggs

1 cup milk (or milk substitute like almond or coconut milk)

2 full tablespoons of pure local honey or maple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 rounded cup of blueberries (I like to use either fresh or the frozen wild organic blueberries)

coconut oil or butter for frying

Pancake Instructions

Whisk and combine the wet ingredients: eggs, milk, honey and vanilla.

To the liquid mixture add: coconut flour, salt and baking soda.

Stir well to combine

Gently fold in the blueberries

Let the batter sit for 3 to 4 minutes while you preheat your griddle.

Preheat griddle to about 300 degree or medium heat. 

Apply coconut oil to the griddle and allow to melt.

Pour 2/3 cup of batter onto griddle for each pancake. (The smaller size pancake makes for easier flipping)

When the pancakes start to have tiny bubbles all over the surface, it's then time to flip.

Once flipped allow the pancake to cook another minute or so until both sides are golden brown.

Serve with below pancake sauce recipe and fresh fruit if desired.

Enjoy!

- I like to make this special sauce for my pancakes. It makes me feel like I have a substantially moistly -topped pancake without all the excess sugar of a plate full of syrup.

------

Coconut Oil Maple Sauce

recipe quantity for 1 pancake

Pancake Sauce Ingredients

1 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoons maple syrup

4 shakes of cinnamon

Pancake Topping Instructions

Melt the coconut oil and honey on the stove top or in the microwave. Add in the cinnamon. Stir to combine then pour over your pancakes. Enjoy!

Tip: I like to double the pancake recipe and freeze the extra pancakes. They are great heated in the toaster for a quick on the go meal.

I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!

Love and Light,

Christina