Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Here's another Tuesday muffin recipe (last week's muffin recipe). I think this might be becoming a thing :)  This week I was desperate for some fall spirit as we say goodbye to summer "officially" today. It's still pretty warm in the 80's here, but we picked up a few pie pumpkins at the apple orchard last week, and I couldn't help myself. It may still feel like mid-summer, but the days are getting darker faster and the tips of some of the trees are turning some red and orange colors, so we know the cool down is close. And if baking some pumpkins brings in the fall air a little sooner, then so be it! This season of in-between, the changes are right at our doorstep and you can literally feel the energy of change coming. You may even sense it in your heart and minds, the energy is so strong this time of year to clean out and start settling to get ready for the comfort of wintertime.

So many of my allergy-friendly recipes have the same ingredients. I try to make recipes as simple as I can, and even versatile to use in a variety of ways. You could make this recipe into a cake, you could even try pancakes. It is intimidating to start baking GF (or allergy-friendly), but if you have a few good recipes or guides you may find that you are more willing to take the scary leap. So I hope you find some support with these recipes. Or at the least some hope that there is some great treats out therefore even you :) Enjoy and much love xoxo

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe
{gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nut and seed free}

1 cup of certified GF oat flour (I grind my own out of rolled oats)
1/3 cup of rice flour
1/4 cup of tapioca flour
1 ts. of baking soda
1 ts. of sea salt
2 ts. of baking powder (Hain brand corn-free)
1 1/2 ts. of ground cinnamon
1 1/2 ts. of ground ginger
1/2 ts. of ground cloves
1/2 ts. of ground cardamon
1/2 cup of coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup of black strap molasses (or maple syrup)
1/3 cup of coconut milk beverage
1 TB of apple cider vinegar
1 cup of fresh pumpkin puree (I baked my own in the oven)
1/3 cup of soft or melted coconut oil
add1 cup of mini chocolate chips (enjoy life brand)

Mix all the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and then add all the dry ingredients. Save the chocolate chips for last and just fold them in. Pour into 12 muffin tins, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes.  These muffins need to cool for at least 15 minutes to avoid tongue burning :) 

Banana-Blueberry-Lemon Muffins

On Tuesday mornings, a dear friend has been keeping me company and giving me consolation as we both send off our babies to Kindergarten this year. It's a lot harder than one might think and so much to learn about this process of letting go and helping that little person become more of themselves. So with all this change it is of utmost importance to have a mommyhood sisterhood community for support. We both have another little one to care for and so we decided to make it a Tuesday date of time for the littles to play and time for us to chat. The two hours fly by, the week seems shorter and life seems less harsh. As we await the fall air to settle in, brewing some hot tea seems a must as we try to get into the rhythm of things. The past few weeks it has involved a little pot of tulsi chai tea and muffins. I love finding rhythms that sink into our daily lives so naturally. One of those for me is baking muffins on tuesdays. So here is my latest, and these were given Stephanie, "these-are-your-best-muffins-yet" rating, so yeah, there's that ;) Happy fall rhythm making and settling into some weekly routines that help you feel balanced and well. Much love xoxo

Banana-Blueberry-Lemon Muffin Recipe
{gluten, dairy, egg, nut, soy and refined-sugars free}

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of coconut milk beverage
4 drops of lemon essential oil (I use Young Living here)
1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
1/2 cup of coconut palm sugar
3/4 cup of certified GF oat flour (I grind GF rolled oats in a high powered blender)
1/2 brown or white rice flour
1/4 cup of tapioca flour
2 ts. of baking powder
1 ts. of baking soda
1 ts. of sea salt
1- 1 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix all the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and then add all the dry ingredients. Save the blueberries for last and just fold them in to avoid making your muffins a blue-purple the dye creation (or don't, and make those instead ;) Pour into 12 muffin tins, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes.  These muffins need to cool for at least 15 minutes to avoid tongue burning on bubbling blueberries.