JBR's Banana Pecan Muffins (Gluten-Free)

Dear Readers,

I love pecans. But, first of all if you are allergic to pecans, like my Catherine & Mary are, then substitute some other nuts or omit them entirely in this recipe. Nuts are not crucial in life. And, you don't want to miss out on these muffins according to my friend JBR. We ate these muffins for our morning snack all week at work. She loved them and raved about their taste. I strongly liked them. So, I'm naming them after her. I find the gluten-free flours to have an odmd texture I'm not used to and they seem a little crumbly to me. I don't imagine I'm the only person who's experimented with gluten-free to express these same two concerns. I used the Bob's Red Mill brand Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour. I omitted the Xanthum gum that most gluten-free baking recipes call for because it's like $16 for a small bag and that's totally out of my budget these days! Maybe that's why they were slightly crumbly. Regardless, the flavors were great and I felt good about eating them because they were gluten-free. Enjoy!


In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann









JBR's Gluten-Free Banana Pecan Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins

1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup honey
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans












1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin pan.
2. In a small bowl combine the canola oil, eggs, vanilla and honey. Beat with whisk until well mixed and fluffy. Add the bananas and stir until combined.
3. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir until well mixed.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture in your large bowl. Stir until combined. Do not over mix. Add the pecans and stir.
5. I like big muffins so I use about 1/3 cup batter to each muffin tin. (And, really, who doesn't like big muffins??) Fill the muffin pan with all the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool only a little before eating. Optional serve with butter or vegan spread. Extras keep well in the refrigerator for about 3 days.

Oatmeal Spelt Muffins with Banana & Blueberries

Oatmeal Spelt Muffins with Banana & Blueberries
Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann
Yields about 9 muffins

These muffins are so easy to make and actually good for you too! You may notice these muffins have no sugar, honey, etc. The ripe bananas & blueberries sweeten them and really who needs all that sugar anyways? I love um just warmed up with some melted butter. Mmmm so good for breakfast. Enjoy!
In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen (thawed)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 brown egg

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a muffin pan.
2. Place oatmeal in a large mixing bowl. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix all dry ingredients.
3. In a small bowl combine the bananas, blueberries, oil and egg. Stir until mixed.
4. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix until just combined.
5. Pour batter into greased muffin pan. About 1/4 cup batter per muffin.
6. Bake in 375 degree oven for 18 minutes.
7. Let cool and enjoy warm with butter.

The Best Breakfast Oatmeal

Steel cut oats are the best. You might be more familiar with rolled oats for your hot breakfast cereal. Steel cut oats are the unprocessed whole grain oat and are very nutritious and delicious. Once a week I cook a big pot of steel cut oats and reheat a small portion each morning for breakfast. It's a great start to your day. My version of steel cut oats is a real "breakfast of champions" packed with whole grain, fiber, and protein. Here's the basic recipe then all of my add-in's:

1 cup steel cut oats
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp alcohol-free pure vanilla
4 cups water

Place the oats, cinnamon, and vanilla in a medium-large pot and add the water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn down the heat to the lowest simmer. Cook covered for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and check to make sure oats aren't sticking. Add additional water as needed. This will yield enough oats for me to eat for about 6 mornings. I don't sweeten my cereal beyond the cinnamon and vanilla, because I really don't need the sugar. Consider rethinking sweetening your morning cereal.

Each morning I reheat a small portion of the oats (About 1/2 cup) with these add-ins:

1/2 cup organic unsweetened soymilk
1 organic banana-sliced
1 tbsp organic raisins
1 tbsp organic sliced almonds
1 tbsp organic chopped walnuts
1 tsp organic unsweetened raw shredded coconut

A note about cinnamon...I love cinnamon for it's delicious taste and also for it's magical/folklore uses. I need as much good energy and positive vibrations I can gather every morning to start my day! In "The Goddess in the Office" by Z. Budapest she says there are a number of magical herbs and spices associated with wealth. And you guessed it-cinnamon is one of them! She recommends baking cinnamon in cookies, rolls and bread. So, here's what I'm saying-I'm going to add cinnamon to my food every morning to symbolize my readiness for financial prosperity and growth. How about you give it a try too and let me know how it works!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Banana Nut Muffins

Happy Valentine's Day! This morning my 2 1/2 year old friend, Jasper, and I enjoyed baking these muffins together. Baking is a great activity to share with young children-it teaches them math, how to follow directions, & develops their fine motor skils and eye-hand coordination. (Yes, in my other life I am a Child Development Specialist!) We had a great time together and the baking muffins made the house smell yummy delicious.

I try to bake a batch of muffins every week to enjoy as a snack. I bake this recipe when I have a few bananas turning brown and really ripe. Today I was using all ingredients that I already had on hand, so the entire muffin recipe cost me nothing out of this week's food budget. You can't beat that! I like to make large muffins, so this recipe yields 6 large muffins or 10-12 smaller muffins. 6 muffins is a perfect amount for me. I can eat one a day for the week before they start going hard and stale. ( I store my muffins in a sealed container in the fridge) If you are preparing banana nut muffins for a family or a brunch just double the recipe to make a dozen.

In health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Banana Nut Muffins
This recipe makes 6 large muffins or 10-12 small muffins

2 very ripe organic bananas
1/3 cup organic canola oil or organic melted butter
¼ cup organic honey
2 organic brown eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon alcohol-free pure vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups organic whole wheat flour
1 cup organic walnuts, chopped
organic canola oil spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Peel and mash bananas in a large mixing bowl.

2. Mix in the canola oil or melted butter, beaten eggs, honey and vanilla.

3. In another bowl combine the baking soda, sea salt and flour and mix well.

4. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir until it is just incorporated.

5. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

6. Spray the muffin pan with canola oil until very lightly greased.

7. Pour mixture into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. You'll know they are done with they are lightly browned, big and fluffy, and when you insert a toothpick into the center of one it comes out clean. Let cool (or not) and then devour!