Karista's Kitchen

Zucchini, Carrot and Pineapple Muffins

There comes a moment in time when Mother’s must do what must be done.  Tell a fiblet.

Not a fib or a lie or even a white lie.  A fiblet.  My youngest gal’s favorite word for a “slight truth”.  You might think me a completely terrible parent for telling a fiblet.  But alas, it’s been necessary a time or two.

Especially when my youngest gal announced she no longer ate vegetables. I was horrified. How could my child not eat her vegetables?  I’m a chef for Pete’s sake. Aren’t my children supposed to have advanced palates and eat absolutely anything I cook?  Apparently not.

Confetti Muffins

So,  I did what any good Mother would do.  I hid veggies in the food.   Mashed potatoes included mashed cauliflower, steamed and finely diced broccoli went into the meatballs and roasted zucchini went into our favorite grilled hamburgers.

I was on a role.  I was feeling so proud of my ingenuity and cleverness.  And not once did I have to tell a fiblet.  Until the muffins.

Zucchini, carrot and pineapple muffins.  Yep, I thought to myself, this was going to be great. I’d get my little gal eating veggies for breakfast and dinner.

As soon as the muffins came out of the oven my little gal was sitting at the counter, ready and waiting for her muffin.  She kept telling me how delicious they smelled, and that these were absolutely going to be her favorite muffins ever!

My Little Suzie Q

Then she broke one open and adamantly stated  “What’s all this stuff in my muffin?”  And here’s where that fiblet flew right out of my mouth.  “It’s called a confetti muffin”.  “You know, like those yummy confetti sprinkles we put on cupcakes”.

Ok, so I know what you’re thinking.  If she’d ask me what the “confetti” was made of I would have come clean and told her. I promise.  But she never asked. (Phew!)

My little Suzie Q… almost grown up.

Suzie Q sat happily eating her Confetti Muffin, stating several times they were the best muffins she’s ever eaten.

Happy Mother’s Day!  Wishing all you Mom’s loads of love, lots of laughs and giggles, quiet time for yourselves, and true joy.

Karista

Confetti Muffins (Zucchini, Carrot and Pineapple Muffins)

When I created these muffins I wanted them to be as delicious and health friendly as possible.  So I made lots of substitutions that I believe are all in good health.  Most of the ingredients can now be found at any major grocery store chain.  However, if you have a local natural market or a Whole Foods close by, you’ll definitely find a good selection of these ingredients.  I’ve also included a gluten-free recipe following the whole grain recipe.  Happy Baking!

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

½ cup coconut oil (softened) or grapeseed oil

½ cup brown sugar or Agave syrup

2 eggs

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup grated fresh zucchini

½ cup grated fresh carrot

½ cup diced pineapple (fresh or organic canned with no added sugars)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I like King Aruthur)

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Directions

Pre heat the oven to 350F.

Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups.

Whisk together the softened coconut oil and brown sugar until nicely combined.  Add one egg at a time and whisk until creamy.  Then mix in the vanilla.

Fold in the zucchini, carrot and pineapple.

In a separate bowl mix together the wheat and all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Gently stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture and try (really hard) not to over mix. (I’ve been known to over mix a time or two)  All you want is for both mixtures to be nicely combined.

Fill the muffin cups about ¾ full.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the muffins are firm to the touch.

Let the muffins cool on a wire rack before serving.  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Confetti Muffins

If you are looking for a simple gluten-free muffin mix, I love Pamela’s gluten-free baking mix.  Follow the basic muffin recipe,  adding in the same amount of veggies and pineapple as the recipe above.  If the muffin batter seems too thin, add a bit more of the gluten-free baking mix.  Bake as directed.

I prepare these muffins with Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour.  I get a lot of my almond flour recipes from the brilliant gluten-free and paleo blogger, Elana’s Pantry.  She has a delicious selection of gluten-free and paleo friendly recipes on her site.  Here are some blanched almond flour confetti muffins I whipped up… adapted from Elana’s Pantry.

Ingredients

Makes about 8-10 muffins

2 cups Honeyville blanched almond flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 cup agave syrup

1/2 cup shredded zucchini

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup diced pineapple

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line a muffin tin with 8-10 muffin cups.

Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Then whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Fold in the veggies and pineapple.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and firm to the touch.  Enjoy!