Apple Cinnamon Muffins (gluten & grain-free)

Prep Time: 10 Min

Cook Time: 20 Min

Makes: 12 muffins

350F 12-cup muffin tin with parchment liners

1 1⁄4 cups blanched almond flour 1⁄2 cup arrowroot powder 2 tablespoons coconut flour 1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1⁄4 cup palm shortening or softened unsalted butter 3 large eggs 1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups Granny Smith apple chucks (about ¼”)

1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

· Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment liners.

· In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour through nutmeg.

· Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to thoroughly combine.

· Fold in the chopped apples, cranberries, and walnuts.

· Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them two-thirds full, and

bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

· Cool in the muffin tin on a wire rack before removing from the pan.

· Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerate up to 4.

“Apple a day keeps the doctor away” ….

Is there any truth to this?

For at least 5,000 years apples have been known for their health benefits. Northern Europeans during the Middle Ages told a legend about a box of golden apples that granted eternal life: apparently when the gods felt old age approaching, one bite of the apple made them young again. Others, like the Scandinavians, 900 AD, buried baskets of apples with their dead to nurture them in the afterlife. The pharaohs would have mummified apples found inside their tombs. Throughout recorded history, apples have symbolized health and longevity. But is there any truth to this today?

Although the variety of apples today are nowhere near as nutritious as they were in the past (previous varieties up to 100x more phytonutrients), apples still provide an amazing number of flavonoid antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber. As such, reach is showing an abundance of health benefits.

Benefits include:

· Improving digestion

· Aiding weight loss

· Taming inflammation

· Preventing Heart Disease,

· Diabetes,

· Asthma,

· Constipation

Interesting facts:

Granny Smith is the most nutritious of the 12 most common varieties sold.

The Environmental Working Group has continued to list apples on the “Dirty Dozen” list of most chemically sprayed fruits and veggies for the past decade! So, buy organic!

Pectin in apple nutrition is also considered a natural diuretic.

Eat the whole apple as it doubles your health benefits due to a greater concentration of phytonutrients in the skin.

Store apples in a cool, humid environment like the crisper drawer in your refrigerator to keep them fresh longer.