I’ve been craving comfort foods lately. Maybe it’s the weather as it’s been raining lots here in Northern California. Two times this week I’ve baked, and I’m not really the baking type, but I suppose this hankering for warm, tasty treats urged me to do so. And, I’ve actually enjoyed this quality time spent in the kitchen.
The more successful of the baked goods I created I’ll share today, and the other I’m still working on perfecting so I’ll post that soon when it’s ready.
Not that I’m opposed to eggs (I actually believe they are one of the most nutrient-rich foods around), but I, personally can’t eat them so when I do bake, I like to experiment with egg-free recipes.
I’m also always trying to construct dessert-like treats that are low in sugar or have no added sugars whatsoever. Read more here about the impact of sugar on the body.
So what’s so good about these muffins?
I think they’d be a great addition to your weekly meal prep, especially for those who struggle to eat enough veggies throughout the day.
Sweet potatoes and carrots are both good sources of dietary fiber and provide beta-carotene. Also, because they are both sweeter-tasting veggies, I didn’t add any sweetener whatsoever to this recipe. Feel free to add your favorite sweetener if you’d like such as maple syrup, coconut sugar, or dates.
This recipe also uses green banana flour, a great gluten-free option for baking and quite healthy as well. According to the packaging of the brand I used (Let’s Do…Organic / Edward & Sons Trading Co.), “when replacing grain flour in baking recipes, use 25% less green banana flour and no extra eggs or liquid ingredients are needed”.
Green banana flour is a natural source of resistant starch, a type of starch not digested in the stomach or small intestine and makes its way to the large intestine undigested — hence the name resistant starch. When eaten, it may provide satiety more so than other types of foods and flours — helping you to feel full for longer. There are some studies done on resistant starch as well showing that it may be beneficial for helping to control blood glucose and aid in weight loss.
Though this recipe mixes both this green banana flour with almond flour, I believe that the banana flour lends a more light and fluffy texture to the muffins. If I were to have used only almond flour or coconut flour, I suspect that they would have turned out more drier or grittier. Also, though there were no eggs to bind the ingredients, the sweet potatoes, I think helped do the trick and act as a banana.
…so enough talk, here is the recipe for these yummy, healthy, no-added sugar, gluten-free, and vegan Sweet Potato Carrot Muffins I made.
Let me know what you think!
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| Prep Time | 15 mins |
| Cook Time | 25 mins |
| Servings |
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- 1 cup green banana flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 small sweet potatoes peeled, chopped, and steamed
- 1/2 carrot peeled first and then ribboned into thin strips
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fresh ginger root skin peeled, finely minced
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or shredded
- 1/4 cup crushed walnuts
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut sweet potatoes into small pieces (so that they steam faster), after peeling off skin. Steam for about 10 minutes or until soft and cooked.
- Remove sweet potatoes from steamer after done cooking and place in a bowl. Use a potato masher or large fork and mash them.
- Peel outer layer of 1 carrot and discard. Thinly ribbon the carrot, by peeling again to create thin ribbon-like strips. Don't fret over uneven strips. Stop when you've used 1/2 of carrot. Chop strips in half so that they are not too long. No more than 3 inches in length is desirable. (This pic was before I cut them in half so they look longer).
- Add minced ginger, coconut oil (does not have to be melted), carrot ribbons, coconut flakes, walnuts, and almond milk to bowl of sweet potatoes. Mix thoroughly.
- In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients thoroughly: green banana flour, almond flour, baking powder. Add dry spices and mix.
- Mix components of both bowls together. Stir thoroughly and ensure that the moist ingredients completely cover and blend with dry ingredients and all ingredients are distributed evenly. If the mixture looks too dry, add more almond milk.
- Grease a 12-muffin baking tray (I used coconut oil).
- Evenly spoon mixture into 12 slots of muffin tray.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and stick a toothpick in the center of a muffin to test how cooked they are. I baked for 25 minutes (they looked a bit brown on top but not burnt).
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Enjoy!
Try different spices if you're not a fan of some of these ones. Also, I honestly didn't taste the fresh ginger that much. I would add more next time. Or, if you don't have any you can eliminate it entirely as it's not critical to the taste of the muffins.