Paleo Lemon Zucchini Muffins

Aug 8

Aug 8 Paleo Lemon Zucchini Muffins

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegetarian, Paleo, Grain-Free, Dessert, Sides, Snacks, Sweet

Lightly lemony, fresh from the zucchini, and mixed with dates and walnuts, these muffins are the perfect afternoon energy boost or post-exercise treat! Made with almond, coconut and tapioca flours, they are grain-free, and sweetened with maple syrup. These muffins are ideal for summer zucchini season, and will definitely impress your friends at the next picnic.

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Seasonal eating is where it is at. In the summer, our bodies crave more watery, refreshing vegetables and fruit. And it feels so good to indulge in all of the fresh summer produce! I found myself with an excess of zucchini, if there is such a thing, and I imagined a light lemony muffin with my coffee… and so this paleo lemon zucchini muffin was born!

As a gluten-free person, I am obsessed with adding crunch to most of my recipes, because I think that is often a lacking texture when you take wheat out of the picture. Adding walnuts, or any other nut or seed to this recipe makes it satisfying on multiple levels: zesting, crunchy, fresh and mildly sweet. Is your mouth watering yet?

Ingredient Fun Facts:

- almond flour: nutritionally dense, and a great source of protein and healthy monounsaturated fats. The texture of almond flour in baked goods is crumbly, tender and holds moisture beautifully, although it needs other ingredients to help bind it.
- coconut flour: another nutritionally dense grain-free flour, coconut flour is high fiber, iron and MCT and SCFA fats, which support your brain and your gut, respectively. A little bit goes a long way! Coconut flour is highly absorbant, and helps to bind the ingredients. Can be subbed for a 1/2 cup almond flour.
- tapioca flour: a grain-free flour, tapioca is made from cassava root and processed into a high-starch white flour. This high starch content makes this flour incredibly sticky and helps to keep the bread together without the gluten. Can be subbed for arrowroot flour.
- maple syrup: in the end, sugar is sugar, but I prefer to use unprocessed sweeteners for the little benefit that they have! Maple syrup contains a variety of antioxidants and minerals, and the darker the color, the more nutrients it contains (and the richer it tastes)!
- zucchini: a very watery vegetable, great for adding fresh moisture to baked goods, but it is super important to squeeze as much of the water content out of the shredded zucchini before adding to the recipe! Otherwise you’ll end up with a soggy blob. No soggy blobs please
- lemon: the addition of lemon in this recipe brightens the flavors and makes a summery muffin, even more summery. I bet lime would be delicious as well!
- sunflower seed butter NOTE: I like to use this as my go-to nut butter, for all the reasons listed in my sunflower seed butter recipe. But be warned! If you use sunflower seed butter in a recipe that contains baking soda, it WILL turn a weird halloween shade of green after baking and cooled, and will continue to intensify with time. This is a chemical reaction happening with the chlorophyll in the sunflower seeds. Totally healthy and natural, nothing to worry about! You have been warned…

How to Make Paleo Lemon Zucchini Muffins:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line or oil (with coconut oil) a 12 muffin tray. I love using the silicone re-useable muffin liners.

2. Using a food processor or a medium size grater, shred about 2 cups zucchini. If you shred too much, you can always add it to an omelette or stir fry!

3. Using paper towels, a mesh bag/nut milk bag, squeeze as much water out of the zucchini as possible, until about 1 heaping cup remains. We don’t want excess water cooking out of the zucchini to make our muffins soggy.

4. In a large mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients and mix well.

5. In a separate bowl, add all wet ingredients (eggs through vanilla) and mix until thoroughly combined.

6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until incorporated and becomes a thick batter. Do not over-mix or the mixture will get dense!

7. Next add the lemon juice, lemon zest, shredded zucchini and mix-ins such as dates and walnuts until evenly distributed. The dates and walnuts are optional (although delicious) and can also be swapped for other dried fruit, nuts or chocolate!

8. Fill each muffin liner to about 3/4 full and smooth the tops a bit so they brown more evenly.

9. Bake in the oven for 24-26 minutes, or until gently brown on top, and a toothpick can be inserted in the middle and come out clean.

10. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, and enjoy! Perfect as a post-exercise snack or mid-afternoon pick me up.

11. Store the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Yield: 12

Author: Samantha Sterman

Prep time: 30 MCook time: 25 MTotal time: 55 M

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour (100g)
1/3 cup coconut flour (40g)
1/4 cup tapioca flour (35g)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 cup sunflower seed butter, or any other nut/seed butter (70g)
3 tbsp maple syrup (60g)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil, or butter if not dairy-free (54g)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix-ins:

2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
2 small zucchini, shredded (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
1/4 cup chopped dates

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line or oil with coconut oil a 12 muffin tray
Using a food processor or a medium size grater, shred about 2 cups zucchini
Using paper towels or a mesh bag*, squeeze as much water out of the zucchini as possible, until about 1 heaping cup remains
In a large mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients and mix well
In a separate bowl, add all wet ingredients (eggs through vanilla) and mix until thoroughly combined
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until incorporated (do not over-mix)
Next add the lemon juice, lemon zest, shredded zucchini and mix-ins** such as dates and walnuts until evenly distributed
Fill each muffin liner to about 3/4 full and smooth the tops a bit
Bake in the oven for 24-26 minutes, or until gently brown on top, and a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean
Let cool for at least 10 minutes, and enjoy!
Store muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week

Recipe Notes:

*I actually use a mesh produce bag, but a nut milk bag would work great for this **dates and walnuts can be replaced with whatever mix-ins your heart desires, such as almond and chocolate chunks… ***General recipe note: if you use sunflower seed butter, as I did for this recipe, will cause the muffin to slowly turn green! Do not be alarmed! Sunflower seeds contain chlorophyll, which reacts with the baking soda inside and once baked and cooled (and refrigerated), will turn a bright green color. This is perfectly safe and healthy, albeit a bit strange to bite into...

Calories

211.99

Fat (grams)

15.64

Sat. Fat (grams)

5.19

Carbs (grams)

13.98

Fiber (grams)

2.81

Net carbs

11.18