Five Dollar Muffins

UPDATE 9/30/09: Tried a batch today using hazelnut oil and 1T vanilla instead of 1tsp and made 12 regular sized instead of 6 huge ones, taking between 15-20min to bake.  They are delicious!  So I am changing the recipe below to account for this new tweak.  Enjoy!

When I think of these muffins, I think of the $5 hamburger commercials.  Something has to be a big deal to be worth $5, and these muffins are worth that or more.  Depending upon how you like them, they can be oooey-gooey on the inside and actually improve with refrigeration.  Good luck saving them for long!

The Ultimate Banana Walnut Muffins
Makes 6 huge muffins or 12 regular sized
Cooking Time: 30-45 minutes start to finish
Zone Blocks: 6 blocks of Fat for each muffin when making a batch of 12, 1.5-2 blocks of Carb and 1/4 block of Protein--so basically call each of these a 6 block Fat.  


Dry Ingredients:
2 C almond flour/meal (NOTE: I use Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal brand since it is cheapest.  Other almond flours might turn out differently, so feel free to experiment!)
1/3 C coconut flour (sifted gives the best results since it clumps easily)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (grated fresh)
1 C walnuts

Wet Ingredients:
2 bananas, the riper the better
1 T vanilla
3 eggs warmed to room temperature
1/3 C honey
3 T oil (olive oil is fine, coconut oil when liquid is excellent, and hazelnut oil or walnut oil hits it out of the park!)
2 T almond butter (unsalted, but if salted, just add 3/4 tsp salt instead of 1 tsp)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place walnuts in preheating oven on a sheet rack to roast.  Watch them carefully--too many times have I let them burn and ruined a whole batch!  Meanwhile, peel bananas and mash them to a liquid (can be chunky) in a medium-sized bowl.

To the bananas, add honey and almond butter and mix well.  Next, prepare the eggs.  I usually crack them in another bowl to avoid stray shells, then mix them there before adding to the other wet ingredients, for better mixing.  Add those eggs, the oil, and vanilla to the banana bowl; mix to incorporate.  (Check walnuts!)

In a separate bowl, add almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda.  Mix to incorporate.  (Check walnuts!) Prepare your muffin tin.  You'll notice that I have a non-stick muffin tin, but the non-stick quality only lasted a few batches before stickage ruined the bottom of enough muffins that I gave up on it.  I need to buy muffin cups! In the meantime, I use homemade (read: lazy) parchment paper "cups" that only stay put once batter is scooped in them.  Not ideal, but they work.  If using a naked muffin tin, grease it with the same oil you used in the batter (or try mixing and matching, what the heck!).

By now your walnuts are either burnt to a crisp or you rescued them once golden brown and fragrant (I always think of the host of Good Eats, Alton Brown, saying "I smell nuts!").  Chop them up into tiny bits, but not dust.  I have found that knives pale in comparison to crunching them with a metal spatula or even a bench scraper.  The bottom of a bowl or cup will also do.  Measure out a cup or so of roasted, chopped walnuts.

If your oven is preheated, you are good to go: add the wet to the dry and scrape the bowl.  Mix well and add walnuts.  Don't worry about mixing so much that you make rocks of your muffins since we don't have to deal with temperamental gluten here, but I still stop when just incorporated evenly, just in case.  Dollop into muffin cups (see pre-muffins pic above) and bake for about 20 minutes if making 6 huge muffins or between 10-15 if smaller.  Check for golden brown color and mostly set tops.  I love oooey-gooey ones, so I never bother with the toothpick test or completely set tops.  Cool on a rack.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge once cooled.  They won't last long due to extreme deliciousness, not spoilage!

Sick of lettuce? Try Kale Salad!

This salad packs well and is an easy meal prep on a weekend for salads during the week.  Make a bigger batch for more leftovers.


Why kale?

Kale is a delicious, hearty green with loads of nutrients.  Notably, it is chocked full of Vitamin A (important in vision and bone growth), Vitamin K (important in blood clotting and bone metabolism), and Vitamin C (a powerful antioxidant, important component for chemical reactions in your body, and vital part of maintenance and synthesis within the body).  It has a glycemic load of 3, therefore it doesn't spike your blood sugar.  It is a strong anti-inflammatory based upon its fatty acids, glycemic load, and antioxidant content.

What makes Kale Salad special?

Raw kale is nutrient dense.  Vitamins like Vitamin C degrade through cooking and the application of heat.  Raw kale has more available Vitamin C.  Studies looking at the nutrient properties of plants in the same genus as kale (Brassica vegetables or cabbages) also has more of the anti-inflammatory molecule called sulforaphane when raw.  Sulforaphane is important for reducing inflammation, such as in the respiratory system to alleviate asthma and other respiratory ailments, and has been found to inhibit cancer cell growth.  When raw, the absorption of this important molecule is faster than when cooked.

Vitamin K and Vitamin A are fat soluble, meaning if you have fat along with a food source rich with these vitamins, you get more of that vitamin out of the food.   Kale Salad incorporates olive oil which frees up these vitamins.

Olive oil itself is beneficial in many ways.  As a monounsaturated fat it can reduce the total and low-density (LDL) cholesterol levels in your blood.  Extra virgin olive oils are less processed and have the highest levels of polyphenols, a powerful antioxidant.  There is also evidence that olive oil plays a role in blood sugar and blood pressure reduction, omega fat balance, and protection against heart attack and stroke.

Nuts are fat and nutrient powerhouses.  As a food storage system for a growing plant embryo, nuts are nutrient dense.  As omega 3 sources, they help balance your fatty acids and can lower LDL concentration.  They have a low glycemic index and possess vitamins E, F, and G as well as many important minerals.  However, they aren't a viable protein source, but we'll get into that in another post.

So let's put it all together.

Kale Salad
(inspired by Caveman Food's Relaxed Kale)
Makes enough for 2 with some leftovers (depending upon gluttony)
Preparation Time: 15 minutes, then let sit to meld flavors

1 bunch of kale, greens cut from the stem and torn into pieces
1.5 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Dressing:
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp raw honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard

After preparing and washing the kale, add the olive oil and salt and massage the kale for 5-7 minutes (yes, with your hands, yes the salt hurts cuts, and yes, it takes a little time) until it reduces in size and feels more pliable.  In another bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together to incorporate.  Add dressing and toss to coat the kale.  At this point, you can place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for a week (actually improves over time).

To serve:
(NOTE: don't add these items until you are ready to eat because they will deteriorate with time)

Add a handful of chopped nuts like walnuts or almonds, preferably roasted (place on a baking sheet while you preheat the oven for another meal and toss every once and a while to brown or place in a skillet and roast stovetop until brown--just be careful not to burn them!).

Add a meat choice.  Ours is usually seared steak (see recipe to follow), but you can add any type of meat.  Bite-sized is the most easily eaten.

Add a tart apple for the sweet-sour approach that works well with the strong flavors of the kale, vinegar, and mustard.

To make this Zone, you will probably need more carbohydrate choices since kale is 3.2 cups raw per block of carbohydrate.  The honey adds 2 blocks for the whole salad.  An apple also adds 2 blocks of carbohydrate.  The olive oil and nuts make this a fat heavy meal, but delicious and healthy nonetheless.  Cooking your meat on the grill or seared without fat on the stove will allow you more fat leeway for this portion of your meal.

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