Gluten Free Zucchini Carrot Muffins

I've been going to farmer's markets most weeks to try and get some locally grown produce.

Well today I learned a few things:

• Most of the local markets are not organic and use pesticides (NOT cool).  But I got a list of the 3 or 4 that are organic. (Now I'm wondering...is organic from mexico better than local, but not organic? If you have any insight please comment and let me know!)
• The dirty dozen...Foods you NEED to get organic
• The verdict is STILL (ridiculous) not out about whether organic is better for you or not..(Hmm, let me think...chemicals in my food...or not? I'm going to go with not..)

Okay, so I digressed.  The point of talking about farmer's markets was that zucchini is EVERYWHERE at farmer's markets and so I bought some. I was deciding between zucchini bread and zucchini muffins, and decided to try the muffins--we're huge into it :) PLUS there's no eggs, no dairy, and a LOT less almond butter than the other paleo/gluten free muffins I've made.  So I feel like it's less fatty :)  I realized later (thanks to a commenter!) that this isn't paleo even though it's gluten free.  WOOPS! Sorry to those of you who have tried this and are strictly paleo.  I'll try to tweak the recipe and use something other than oats (maybe almond flour) to see how it tastes! 

And, by the way, my husband's EXACT words after eating it "Oh...my...gosh...these are the BEST muffins you've made yet!"  I've tried about 5 or 6 different muffin recipes and I do believe this is my favorite as well.... Just see for yourself how much he loved them! 

This was an adaptation from my one of my favorite blogs My Green Diet.

FYI: I originally was going to follow this recipe most of the way, but then I realized I wanted to make it more filling, so I added almond butter after Step 2.  That's why you won't see in the picture of ingredients below.

Servings: Makes 9 if you make "larger" muffins, and 12 if you make mini-muffins.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten free oat flour (can grind your own with gluten free oats)
• 1/4 cup almond flour (can substitute whole wheat flour for non-gluten-free)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 banana
• ½ cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup of almond butter
• 1 Tbs Coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup finely grated carrots (about 1 medium peeled carrot)
• 3/4 cup finely grated zucchini (about 1 medium unpeeled zucchini)

Directions:

For the muffins: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 mini-muffin cups with (1 1/2-inch) paper liners, if using. Spray with a nonstick spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

In a separate medium bowl, mash the banana very well. Mix in the applesauce, vanilla, honey, almond butter and oil. Add in the grated carrot and zucchini; mix.  

Add the dry ingredients, mix until just combined.

Using 2 small spoons or a small ice cream scoop, fill the prepared muffin cups 3/4 full (**if you want larger muffins like mine, fill most of the way up) with the batter and bake until light golden, about 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. 

Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.