Sometimes the baking I do is for a very specific crowd: a crowd of one. More specifically, my one-year old baby girl. I guess technically, she’s my toddler girl now. Sigh. That went too fast. We’re working on feeding ourselves these days. I mean, I have a pretty good handle on it, but she’s struggling a bit. 😉 One of her hang-ups is that she won’t get anything with lots of moisture near her mouth. So no fruits, no veggies, no proteins. I hate giving her the store-bought puffs all the time, so I’ve had to branch out to other ideas. Freeze-dried foods for the win, but I needed to experiment with other options. Options where I can control the ingredients… and perhaps introduce eggs into her diet… I decided to try these no-sugar-added muffins from My Kids Lick The Bowl.
Now, let’s be honest with each other. If you don’t have kids, you may pass this recipe over. Here’s why you shouldn’t: as far as muffins go, the texture is spot on. They are pleasantly sweet with a subtle banana flavor. You could make them into bigger sizes (though the bite sized ones are totally cute). It’d be easy to make them dairy free by using vegetable oil or a good vegan butter substitute. I’m sure an egg substitute would be just as easy. With today’s health-focused culture, I could see these being a real staple for any family that has any allergy or food sensitivity concern. They are really easy to make, and really easy to customize.
These muffins are so quick to throw together, I didn’t even bother to haul out the stand mixer. My hand mixer does the trick perfectly. The sweetness in these come from the fruits and veggies, which are pureed or mashed so there are no chunks of anything in the resulting muffin. Baby girl hates chunks. The apple (diced) and carrot (shredded) are simmered together until soft and then pureed together. The reason the carrots are shredded is so they will cook in roughly the same time as it takes the apple to soften.
Next time, I would probably do this a bit further in advance to allow for cooling time. Meanwhile, smoosh the banana with a fork and mix in the butter, vanilla, and eggs. Once the apple/carrot puree is not piping hot, add that as well. The mixture should be smooth, frothy, and a lovely yellow-orange color.
Add the dry ingredients (which you should quickly whisk together before-hand) and mix it all up!
I used a small cookie scoop to fill a mini-muffin pan that I sprayed with cooking spray, and into the oven they went! In 15 minutes, they were done!
I was really impressed with them! They tasted great, and I did not miss the added sugar one bit. I feel good about giving these to my little one, and I’m fairly sure I saw my husband sneak one or two while I wasn’t looking. The jury is still out on whether or not the baby girl will accept this new offering or not, but at least I know I’m trying to give her something new and something that’s definitely more nutritious than the baby puffs! For me, that’s a definite win!
Apple Banana Carrot Muffins
No-Added Sugar muffins perfect for kids or anyone looking to cut refined sugar. Also perfect for just anyone!
Ingredients
- 150g Apple peeled, cored, and diced (I used a honeycrip, but any medium-sized eating apple will do)
- 100g Carrot (1-2 medium carrots, grated)
- 100g Banana (1 medium/large banana)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 50g Butter (about half a stick) or Oil
- 160g All-Purpose Flour (1 1/4 cup)
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Directions
- Step 1 Place apple and carrot in a pot with a little water. Simmer over medium heat until apple is soft (5-10 min). Allow to cool slightly
- Step 2 Mash banana in a large bowl. Mash with a fork
- Step 3 Add eggs, vanilla, and butter. Mix to combine. Add apple/carrot puree and mix with a hand mixer until smooth and frothy
- Step 4 Whisk together flour and baking powder. Add to batter and mix until combined
- Step 5 Spray a min-muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill cups about 3/4 full with batter
- Step 6 Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. If making 12 full-sized muffins, bake for 25-30 minutes
- Step 7 Cool before eating. Store in an airtight container for 3 days or freeze for later use!
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