Healthy & Moist Allergy/Gluten Free (& Vegan) Anytime Muffins

One day, over a year ago, while looking for a great muffin recipe I came across this recipe for Healthy Power Muffins, over at Go Dairy Free. I fell in love with it and Ninja and I ate it as is for the longest time.

After a while I wanted to see if I could get it a bit lighter and moister, so I began tinkering with the recipe to get it to my liking. Now don’t get me wrong, while I believe I was a chef in another life, I am NOT one of those people who can easily manipulate a recipe to success. In fact I was downright horrified to make any changes; Lord knows that allergy free products are far too expensive to waste.

But…somehow, someway I got up the nerve. First I worked on the moistness. I took a ‘lil somethin’ I learned on some other recipe for something altogether different and added it in. SUCCESS!

Then, I tackled the density. I did tons of research on flours all over again, in the attempt to see how I might tweak my go-to pancake recipe. And ding, ding, ding…another idea. Once again I added a 'lil somethin' and this time taking away a 'lil somethin' too. Aaaaaand…SUCCESS!

That was it...three modifications and I now have the muffin I absolutely love to eat. It is lighter on my palate and it is not only more moist, but it stays moister longer. That sounds like a commercial doesn’t it, “It stays moister longer,” LOL! But seriously, it does.

And so, the recipe.

Healthy & Moist Allergy/Gluten Free (& Vegan) Anytime Muffins

• 3/4 c. Buckwheat flour

• 1/2 c. Teff flour

• 1/4 c. Tapioca flour

• 1 t. ground cinnamon

• 1 t. baking powder

• 1/2 t. baking soda

• 1/4 t. sea salt (can use plain salt)

• 3 Medium-sized, ripe mashed bananas

• 1/4 c. Organic unsweetened applesauce

• 1/4 c. coconut oil (or your favorite baking oil)

• 1/4 c. honey or maple syrup (or desired sweetness)

• 1 t. vanilla extract

• 1/3 c. Hemp seeds

• 1/3 c. Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips 

1. Preheat your oven to 375ºF and grease a muffin pan (can also use silicone muffin cups)

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

1. In a mixing bowl, blend the banana, applesauce, coconut oil, honey (or maple syrup), and vanilla (it is okay to have some small banana lumps).

1. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.

1. Stir in the hemp seeds and chocolate chips.

1. Pour the batter into the muffin pan, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until slightly browned on top (insert a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean, keeping in mind that the melted chocolate chips may show on the stick).

1. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then place on a baking rack until cool (although I begin gobbling them right after the 5 minutes!).

Don't tell anyone but I gobble two of these babies down straight out of the oven. Don't worry, you will see why soon (and I won't tell on you either).

This is what a ripe banana looks like. Exactly!! Like the ones you usually throw away (shame on you). In the words of Jace (my lovely three year old toddler, stop doing that!!! Those are the best ones for baking! They smell and taste horrible as is, but boy oh boy do they make for some rich sweet baked goodies. Trust me. I wouldn’t steer you wrong ;-). Don't fret if you don't have bananas this ripe, just use what you have.

Here's a tip. Mix up a few batches of the dry ingredients only (except for the hemp seeds and chocolate chips, which are folded in at the end), place them in a Ziploc bag and store them in the fridge. That way "anytime" you have a hankering for some of these great muffins, it'll only take you moments to whip them up. I keep at least three batches on hand at all times. So here’s what I do:

1. Take out three quart sized Ziploc bags and label them “Muffin Mix” or whatever you want to call it. It’s harder to label them once they are full.
2. Begin measuring the dry ingredients, filling each bag as you go. In order to stay organized I spread the bags far enough apart that I don’t get confused. I put the same ingredient in each of the bags before moving on to the next ingredient (like Buckwheat flour, buckwheat flour, buckwheat flour…then on to teff flour).
3. Give the bag a good 'ole shake, shake, shake.
4. Zip them up and pop them in the fridge.

That way when you gotta have those muffins, they are only a few wet ingredients away!

As you mix your flour just make sure you don’t get as carried away as my Little Ninja does as he shakes the bags for mommy. But just in case you do, please post a pic and give us all a laugh for the day.

I call these "Anytime" muffins because we find ourselves eating them, well, anytime. Breakfast...muffin. Dinner...muffin. Wednesday...muffin. I'm happy...muffin. It's raining...muffin. I want some coffee...muffin. Thomas the Train fell off the track...muffin. Even when my toddler begs for an impromptu birthday party months after his actual birthday, full with candles, singing, presents and all (hence the photo above). But you get the point; these are truly ANYTIME muffins, people.

Enjoy!

By Bye, Baby (Mama's Tired!!!)

So much goes into managing the day to day life of a child with allergies that many would not understand. Many people don't realize just how your life comes to a halt in many ways, just for the sake of your child's allergies. I get many invitations to do social activities, and in my heart of hearts I wish I could oblige. But the reality of my days - struggling to create meals that will inspire a 3 1/2 year old to eat, or trying to be courageous enough to introduce new things into an allergy laden diet in the hopes of expanding food options, while at the same time playing the starring role of MOMMY to a vibrant, active and fully energized little boy...exhausting is an understatement. As such, my answer is often a very reluctant and defeated, "Sorry, I can't make it. Maybe next time."

It's often assumed that every mom has a babysitter network that she can tap into any time she wants. That is often not the case for moms of kids with allergies. Personally, I have spent many a night in the emergency room because of allergies; a baby who rolled around like the exorcist, scratched so badly I had to cover his hands, endless crying, with my blood pressure elevated because I had no clue what was going on. No one was around for these occasions except for my dear mother (God bless her soul). There is no word to describe what a mother feels being in such a helpless place while her child is absolutely out of control with discomfort.

All of that to say, for me there are no baby sitters. My munchkin spends the occasional few hours with his MiMi (grandmother) and every other weekend with his dad. That's it. It's all my conscience, and blood pressure, can stand. I would never want to impose the amount of labor it takes to keep my little Jace safe onto anyone else. Further, it's far too much to expect me to educate individuals on what I have learned as well as what I continue to learn on a daily basis.

I envy single moms who can hit the scene the minute their kiddos leave on 1st, 3rd and 5th weekend. They have so much energy and such a desire to connect with others socially. Not me. All I want to do when Jace leaves is climb in the bed and get some rest. Kids with allergies often do not sleep well. That means mom doesn't sleep well either, which is often the case for me.

I begin prepping for Jace's time away on Thursday, washing and folding laundry, grocery shopping, baking and preparing things I can prepare in advance. It is an all day affair on Friday, as that is when I do actual food prep. I have heard many comments insinuating that away visits are his dad's responsibility, "so let him do all of that." I have started to laugh at the audacity of people to impose their ways of thinking onto my situation, never having been in my shoes. But the reality for me is this, I am the one who works on this diet day in and day out. I am the one who experiments, pushes the envelope, pulls Jace to try new things, and ultimately deals with the allergic fall out of it all. As a mom who cares, who is invested in my child's safety and well being, and who understands that his father is not privy to all of my hard learned lessons, I take on the burden of making sure that my munchkin is SAFE and able to be FED when he is away. This means I give his dad the highlights, because that's all I have time and energy for. I send every item that will be ingested by Jace over the course of the weekend, that way I don't have to anticipate a call from the ER as I try to unravel on my weekend to myself, and I can enjoy my time in peace. 

So, once done cooking I package everything up in a way that Munchkin's dad is able to make sense of what's available for the weekend. It all takes so much time, and it's the reason I am usually worn out when jace leaves. Hence, no hitting the scene for this mama! Here are some pics of what everything looks like when I'm done.

Snap pea crisps, homemade muffins, homemade bread, cereal, two kinds of chips,
treats and snacks, fruit sticks (for fruit intake)

Daiya cheese (for nachos and quesadillas), organic tator tots, organic green beans, pre-made smoothie packs (4 - banana and strawberry), taco meat with homemade seasoning, organic grape jelly, earth balance soy free buttery spread, sunbutter, coconut milk yogurt,
organic chicken chili

Organic juice, vitamin enriched rice milk, vanilla coconut milk

Homemade seasoning mixes - Paula Deen's house seasoning and cinnamon sugar (for his toast)

The old faithful little baggie of medicines for each kind of allergy reaction - itching, nasal/coughing, eczema flare on the body, eczema flare on the face, coughing/runny nose (being highly allergic he is prone to spontaneous eruptions of cold like symptoms that are not a cold, but that have on a few occasions turned into sinus/bronchial infections), and the awesome Advil fever reducer

This is the majority of what was sent this visit. It's worth all the hard work to ensure I don't get a call from Texas Children's in the middle of the night. BUT...on the night that he leaves, I just want to crawl under the cover and disappear...until Saturday that is. And I think I deserve that, right? A moment to rebuild and replenish what I have put out? Yes, I do. So if I can't seem to drag myself out with a smile and funky fresh look, ready to have a little fun, well please do forgive me. You can best believe that when my life lets up on me, I promise I will join you for fun. But for now, have a little mercy on me because Mama is tired!!!