Emerald Muffins

My Emerald Muffins are made with fresh spinach and bananas. They are delicately sweet, packed full of vitamins, protein, low sugar, dairy free and make for a great snack for all ages.

By Rose Huxford

The inspiration for my Emerald Muffins came from a friend in my writing group. She mentioned that her family enjoyed spinach muffins, which helped her kids eat more spinach. I decided to put my own twist on the original recipe by making them dairy-free, low in sugar, and low in carbs, while adding extra nutrients and protein. They are perfect for kids' lunches and can be frozen for up to a month.

Emerald Muffins

Yields: 15-18 muffins

Pre-heat oven: 375 degree F

Prep-time: ~10 minutes

Bake-time: ~20-25 minutes

Equipment: Food Processor, or Blender, muffin tin(s), muffin liners, 2 large baking bowls, whisk, spatula, ice cream scooper, measuring cups, liquid measuring cup, measuring spoons, toothpick.

By Rose Huxford

By Rose Huxford

By Rose Huxford

By Rose Huxford

By Rose Huxford

By Rose Huxford

*As an Amazon and King Arthur Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients

• 2 cups spinach, washed and patted dry, ripped apart

• 1 ripe banana

• 1/2 cup real maple syrup

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp plain dairy free yogurt (I like Forager), or plain Greek yogurt

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1/2 cup almond milk, or any non-dairy milk

• 1/4 monk fruit sweetener, cane sugar, or date sugar

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 cup King Arthur almond flour or 1/2 cup sifted oat flour *(notes below on using oat flour)

• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour, or King Arthur GF 1 to 1 baking flour

• 1 tbsp hemp seeds

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/3 cup quick oats, or regular

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F.

2. Line your muffin tin(s) with muffin liners, and set aside.

3. In a food processor, or blender, puree together the spinach, banana, applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla extract, yogurt, almond milk and sweetener/sugar until you have a smooth and creamy consistency.

4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the large bowl and add the chia seeds. Stir.

5. In your second large bowl, whisk together almond flour (or sifted oat flour), all-purpose flour, salt, hemp seeds, oats and baking powder. Make a well in the center.

6. Pour your wet mixture into your dry mixture and use a spatula to stir all of the ingredients until they are fully incorporated. Try to not over stir, this will make for hard and dense muffins.

7. Use a ice cream scooper, or a spoon, to add your batter to your muffin liners. Fill up about 3/4 of the way full. Once all the liners are full with your batter, lightly tap the muffin tin on the counter to remove any air bubbles.

8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Some ovens require longer bake time.

9. Once fully baked, allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the tin before transferring them to a cooling rack.

10. Enjoy your muffins warm fresh out of the oven!

11. For storing: Allow the muffins to cool completely before storing them in a resealable freezer bag, then place them in the freezer for about 1 month. Or, keep them in an air tight container on the counter up to 3-4 days.

12. Enjoy!

By Rose Huxford

By Rose Huxford

• *Guidelines for Using Oat Flour: It's important to sift oat flour to achieve lighter muffins. Additionally, since oat flour absorbs more liquid compared to almond and regular all-purpose flour, using a smaller amount is essential to prevent the muffins from becoming dense.

• *Substituting oat flour for almond flour will alter the taste of your muffins slightly, as you are swapping one type of flour for another. The texture will also differ compared to using almond flour with all-purpose flour, so keep this in mind.

• *To maintain the original measurements of the recipe using almond flour, you should increase both the maple syrup and the dairy-free milk by 1/4 cup to balance the density.