PALEO ORANGE AND POPPYSEED MUFFINS

Yesterday I put my baking hat back on. It’s that time of year when everyone is getting back into the swing of the daily routine (or grind, depending on how you look at things). Meal preps are happening again and I found the need for a sweet snack. It was just the thing to ease everyone back into a somewhat normal life after the mayhem of summer and holidays were coming to a close.

Orange and poppy seed muffins have always been a favourite of mine, but I wanted to continue my low gluten and sugar habits. So the paleo orange and poppy seed seed muffin was created late last night, and boy it did not disappoint!

For a vegan option including a flax egg (get the recipe for that here) or using organ egg replacer will make this delicious paleo snack not only dairy and gluten free, but also vegan friendly.

For the sweetener I used coconut sugar, but to make it a strictly sugar free snack you can always swap for xylitol or stevia.

I used coconut sugar as that was the sweetener which I had in the cupboard at the time but also because it is lower GI than other sugars, it also contains some trace minerals such as iron, zinc and magnesium. And while these things sound great, its also important to mention that this is in comparison to white sugar, and it still has a similar effect on the body of metabolism and breakdown, so it is still best to be consumed in moderation.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of almond meal

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 eggs

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 cup coconut sugar

juice of 1 orange

optional: 2 teaspoons orange rind

1 tbs poppy seeds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tbs coconut oil (melted)

dash of almond milk to achieve optimal texture (texture should be a bit thicker than pancake batter)

150C

20 mins

Makes: 8 muffins

METHOD:

Pre-Heat oven to 150C

Place patty pans into muffins trays

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl until well combined. Transfer to patty pans and place into the oven for 20 min. Remove when brown and a skewer comes out clean. leave to cool as this will help them to set, they may look a little uncooked when you first take them out but if they have browed on top they should be fine.