Mango and Cardamom Muffins (#Vegan, #lowGL, #GlutenFree)

These amazing little muffins were part of my Sunday morning baking session which is becoming a real habit now. They are completely gluten free and use a combination of almond meal, coconut flour and buckwheat flour meaning they are high in protein and dietary fibre which all helps to keep the GL of them low.

One of the best things about these muffins is that there is no added sugar, they get their sweetness from the mango and a small amount of xylitol. Using mango as a sweetener is perfect for the coconut flour that needs a lot of liquid and also helps to keep them very moist.

I loved them and took them to my yoga class yesterday and they went down very well, in fact they just completely disappeared and everyone seemed to enjoy them. It is quite good going to the gym with my baking because I could not possibly eat everything that I bake and at least I get to find out what people think. I guess the test is that they are still happy to take food from me!

Going back to the health profile of these muffins, all 3 of the flours use contain high levels of protein and both coconut flour and buckwheat flour have high levels of fibre with coconut flour containing inulin fibre. In addition to that all three flours contain a large number of vitamins and minerals. For example the almond flour is a good source of vitamins E and B as well as being an excellent source of calcium and containing phosphorus, potassium, zinc and iron. Both coconut flour and buckwheat flour are excellent sources of manganese and your buckwheat flour will also give you a good dose of copper, magnesium and phosphorus. Combine all of these with the fact these muffins can also help to keep your blood sugar under control and provide you with a lot of healthy fats you have a real winner. Plus the flours in this recipe will keep well and so they should last longer than regular muffins. The perfect treat when you want a snack that is actually good for you.

Mango and Cardamom Muffins

Makes 12

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

60g/2/3 Cup Almond Meal Flour
60g/1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
70g/1/2 Cup + 2 tbs Buckwheat Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Ground Cardamom
2 tbs Flaxseed Meal soaked in 5 tbs water
1 Mango (about 250g of flesh), cubed
5 tbs Xylitol
80ml Coconut Oil
2 tbs Lime Juice
125ml Vanilla Coconut Yoghurt (if you cannot get this use coconut cream and 1/2 tsp ground vanilla)
125ml Coconut Milk Drink (or you could use almond milk)
50g/1/3 Cup Pistachio Nuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark for and line a muffin tray with silicone or paper muffin cases.

2. Begin by putting the mango, xylitol, coconut oil and lime juice in a pan and warming over a low heat until the oil and xylitol are melted and the mango has slightly softened. It only takes about 5 minutes or so.

3. Put the mango mixture in a food processor and blend into a smooth paste.

4. While you are preparing your mango sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and cardamom.

5. Whisk the flax eggs for about 1 minute and then slowly add the other wet ingredients (mango puree, coconut yoghurt and coconut milk) while still whisking.

6. Use a spatula to incorporate the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. It is not vital that it is completely mixed, some lumps are fine.

7. Fold in most of the pistachios, leaving a small amount for decoration.

8. Distribute the mixture between 12 muffin cases and use a knife, or back of a spoon to smooth them over.

9. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until a cocktail stick comes out clean.

10. Leave to cool in tray for about 10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to completely cool but if you prefer you could just eat them warm!

Nutrition

I have covered a lot of detail about the nutrition of these muffins but I have put the details below. I have also estimated the GI and GL and it is only estimated as there are not GI values for some of the ingredients but these are best guesses based on similar products. The estimated GI is 30 meaning they are very low and that gives an estimated GL of only 3.5 so these would make a great mid morning or mid afternoon snack, but only have 1 and you will be fine.