I’m always on the lookout for muffins that are healthy and kid-friendly. This mama dedicates a scant 20 minutes a muffin-making in between loads of laundry, holding a clingy toddler and other running around – so they’ve got to come together quickly. Lastly, I look for recipes with ingredients that I already have on hand: bananas, apples, blueberries, flour. So I was definitely intrigued when I came across this recipe that uses sweet potatoes which are loaded with fibre, beta-cerotene and vitamin C. Sweet potatoes are naturally delicious, and I always have them on-hand!
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Muffins
The recipe below is slightly adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow‘s bestselling cookbook “It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great“. I didn’t have Chinese five-spice in my pantry, so I substituted it for ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves. I also made them into mini-muffins which is better suited for my little ones. These turned out super moist and delicious. I accidentally doubled the quantity of sweet potatoes (2 instead of 1) but they turned out fine, and possibly twice as nutritious as the original recipe – bonus! I also used organic all-purpose flour instead of gluten-free flour.
Ingredients
- 1-2 large sweet potatoes
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup good-quality maple syrup or xylitol (honey would also work)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free flour (if the flour doesn’t include xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder (or use 1-2 tsp each of ground ginger, cloves and cinnamon)
Method
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick the sweet potato a few times with a paring knife or a fork. Bake until soft (when a paring knife can cut through with zero resistance), about 1 hour. Set the sweet potato aside until it’s completely cool. Peel the sweet potato, discard the skin, and mash the flesh in a mixing bowl with a fork. Whisk the olive oil, almond milk, maple syrup or xylitol, and vanilla into the sweet potato. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, five-spice powder. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Spray a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray and evenly distribute muffin mixture. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!
