Gluten Free Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (My Midlife Baking Healthier, Eating Happier--with Less Sugar AND Less Gluten Shift)

I've been experimenting with gluten free baking for the past year now. Honestly, who hasn't? I have had some terrific results. I've also had some sad disasters. A health concern recently triggered a demand for me to cut back on foods on the upper register of the glycemic index. More on this in a moment. Meantime, desperate for a little sweet, a little "bread" with my morning GF oatmeal, I came up with these gems. Sweet potatoes are a favorite of mine. I haven't met a woman who doesn't love them. Trying to get my husband to eat one is like pulling teeth. He's, to be polite, not a fan. However, carefully disguised in food stuffs, they pass. I have read the sweet potato is a sort of "wonder food" for women who are losing their minds. . . I mean estrogen levels. More sweet potatoes for me please! I wanted a moist muffin that could hold up to my ritual of slightly re-heating and then dabbing with a bit of Earth Balance margarine. And then, of course, I needed chocolate. The list of ingredients is fairly long for these, but don't be put off buy this--they are worth it. Easy to whip up though. Plus, in the end, my blood sugar thanked me. These were completely worth the trial and error it took to get here. 

Baking gluten free is not for the faint of heart. I am lucky in that I don't need to cold turkey my gluten intake. (Yet.) Breads, cakes and cookie iterations abound on this blog. I think I'd have to begin again if such a course were prescribed: "no-gluten-for-you" would equal "new-blog-for-you". 

Going totally gluten free is not a good choice for those who have not officially been diagnosed with Celiac disease. Talk to your doctor first! I have no diagnosis as such. So moderation and reducing the amount of gluten in my cooking, however, has proven to be a good personal decision. Feeling better, losing the jitters and moodiness following a meal is, to my mind, a real plus. (Just ask my husband.)

Here's what was happening. I was beginning to have major bouts of blood sugar related signs after breakfast. My morning runs were being interrupted with mad dashes to the kitchen to intake a tablespoon of peanut butter to offset episodes of sweating and shakes and intense mood "issues". I knew what this was--a glycemic issue. I began keeping track of the foods I'd have each morning along with the physical response I'd have after. Bottom line, the less gluten/sugar in the morning, the better I would feel.

Which brings me to my other health concern: sugar. Eating less of it, to be precise. There are plenty of ways to do this, but cutting it out completely is difficult. So coconut sugar (I'm a big fan of this), maple syrup, agave and brown rice syrup are making more regular appearances in my baking rotations. This change, too, has lead to both husband and I noticing a difference in how we feel after we eat. 

Making these changes will be a long term process. I have nearly five years of recipes on this blog that could use refinement. Especially in the sugar department. Much of this realization comes with being attuned to the rhythms of my own body. 

I am nearly on the other side of the Almost Fifty spectrum as much as it pains me to admit. Time is not on my side. Or is it? I am fighting the good fight by at least trying to teach myself how to improve our vegan diet with small steps. That is to say, just being vegan alone does not guarantee you a gold star in the health department. It's a push in the right direction, of course. 

The physical results of the gluten/sugar reductions are already proving to be worth the effort. And it's such a small effort when you consider the effects it has had. Improved sleep. Improved mood. Yes, and weight loss. (Trust me, my metabolism has slowed, and I am not happy about this one bit.) Let's just say, the things I could once accomplish by boosting my running mileage just a teeny bit, does not yield the same results it did even a year ago. Sigh. 

Stupid estrogen. I am trying really hard to not be one of those ladies: elastic waistband pants, life-sized geranium sweatshirts/holiday motif wearing and crabby! I just want to ease into the next phase of life with some of my sanity I had in the first half. IS that too much to ask?    

Mash up your sweet potato and banana.

Measure out your gluten free flour and coconut flour (my favorite combo).

You'll need some brown rice syrup to take these muffins in the direction they need to go--moist and sweet. 

Gluten Free Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

*makes 12 regular muffins

1 cup gluten free flour (I used Hodgson Mill)

1 cup coconut flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon Chinese Five Spice (or 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon)

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 banana

1 medium sweet potato (cooked, peeled, mashed)

1 cup brown rice syrup

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons of raw sugar *for sprinkling over the top of muffins 

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin pan. In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients: flours through xanthan gum. Sift really well. In a medium bowl, add all the wet ingredients. Mix with a hand blender on medium speed until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring with a spoon. Fold in the chocolate chips. The mixture will sort of look a bit spongy, but that is okay. They will bake up fine! Fill muffin tins 1/2 full with the batter. Sprinkle each one with a bit of raw sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins begin to brown. Remove from oven. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then turn muffins out onto a cooling rack. Once fully cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. (Or you can store them in the fridge.) I heated my muffins up in the microwave for about 15 seconds each morning, then spread with vegan margarine. Yum!