I am a comfort baker. I said it. I love baking to ease stress and there nothing nicer than chocolate chip cookie dough. But I have gotten creative and healthy over the years, having two growing kids in the house, to get extra fruits and veggies into their diet, and go a little lighter on the refined sugar, baking gluten free as much as possible. 

These muffins are moist and perfect, full of anti-inflammatory pineapple, beta-carotene rich carrots, pumpkin, sunflower and flax seeds for omegas, and come out moist and light. I recommend gluten-free oats – both large and quick work well in this recipe, but you will get a decidedly grainer version with the whole oats. The cinnamon might seem like a lot but it isn’t – trust.

Ingredients

• • 1 1/4 cups grated carrot
  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, or chopped in food processor.
  • 1/ 3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/3 cup applesauce (one small container)
  • 1 ripe banana mashed (or omit and add a little more applesauce)
  • 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax seed mixed with equal parts water) ***
  • 1 1/2 cup rice flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats 
  • 3 tsp cinnamon 
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup each pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup coconut (optional) 

Instructions

Mix wet ingredients together. Make a well in the centre, and add in dry ingredients, folding the ingredients together. Pour into greased muffin tins, or mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until knife inserted come out clean. They may bake faster in hotter ovens.