Grain and Nut-free Carrot Muffins for Babies

The other day I was looking for something fun to make for Isla as a snack. She has really gotten into solids in the last month or so. It took her some time to really get interested in eating foods, and then she was pretty interested in putting food in her mouth, but not necessarily swallowing it. She would pocket food in her mouth, and just hold it there. We always knew when that was happening, because she would get really quiet and refuse to open her mouth. Haha!

In the last month or so, she has gotten really great at putting food in her mouth, and swallowing it. She’s really enjoying mealtime, and it’s a lot less stressful for us!

Thankfully she hasn’t had any food allergies, and can happily eat eggs, any nuts and seeds that we have introduced, and dairy. So far we have tried peanuts, and cashews, and some seeds, but I haven’t tried almond with her yet. I wanted to make her some veggie muffins that were moist and easy to eat, gluten-free, and nut-free. I had a couple bags of Tigernut Flour on hand that I ordered to try out, so I thought I would give that a try for these muffins.

Tigernut is actually a root vegetable, and naturally very sweet, so I knew I wouldn’t have to add much sweetener to it at all, which was also helpful since we haven’t introduced sugar to Isla other than a tiny amount of maple syrup in carrot or sweet potato souffle. All I needed for this batch of muffins was one tablespoon of maple syrup. You could probably even leave it out, and it would still be fine.

I wanted to make carrot muffins, but was a little concerned the muffins would be too dry because Tigernut flour does have a tendency to absorb a lot of liquid from what I’ve experienced in baking with it, so I added some pureed butternut squash, which we always have in our pantry since we often add it to our dog’s food. You couldn’t taste it in this recipe, but it did help add a little bit of extra moisture. You could also try applesauce, which would also be a good substitute for the maple syrup for sweetener in this recipe.

I used half a cup of butter, only because we didn’t have enough ghee at home, otherwise I would have used ghee for this recipe. If you can’t have any dairy, coconut oil would probably work fine, but Isla does great with dairy, and I like the nutritional benefit of ghee, so I prefer to bake with that if I can.

I used some of our Pumpkin Pie Spice in this recipe as well. I usually like adding our Apple Pie Spice in recipes like carrot muffins or carrot bars or even carrot cake, but I thought I would change things up and use our Pumpkin Pie Spice, and it was delicious!

Isla loved these muffins, and Bill and I did too! They were so tasty, and the perfect amount of sweet!

These muffins are a delicious treat that are gluten-, grain-, and nut-free, and low in added sugar! This recipe only uses one tablespoon of pure maple syrup. These muffins are great when you want a healthy snack, and perfect to make for your child!

Serves: 9

Ingredients

2 whole 2 whole 2 whole Eggs, Pastured
2 tsp 2 tsp 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup, Pure
1/4 cup 1/4 cup 1/4 cup Butternut Squash, puree
1.5 tsp 1.5 tsp 1.5 tsp Primal Palate Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 cup 2 cup 2 cup Tigernut Flour
1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Ghee, melted
1 cup 1 cup 1 cup Carrots, peeled and shredded

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Preheat your oven to bake at 350 degrees, and line a cupcake tin with parchment papers
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, butternut squash puree, and Pumpkin Pie Spice.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the Tigernut flour, salt, and baking soda.
Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture, and stir to combine evenly.
Pour the melted ghee into the batter mixture, and stir again to evenly combine.
Mix in the shredded carrots.
Fill each muffin liner approximately 3/4 full of batter. This should make around 9 muffins.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool, and enjoy!

Notes

I stored these muffins in the fridge. I was worried they would be too dry if they were fridge cold, so I warm them in the oven or microwave for a few minutes before giving to my baby.