Healthy Tips | Monk Who? A Sweet Muffin Morning!
Good Monday morning my friends!
I’m always in the kitchen experimenting with food! Each morning I enjoy my morning juice and then head to the kitchen to work on some new food idea. I’ve been thinking about sugar alternatives lately. We all know the unhealthy effects due to eating processed sugars but many of us love to eat sweet breads, cookies, cakes and pies on special occasions!
So what to do?
I focus on using natural organic sweeteners i.e. maple syrup and occasionally honey, fruits and fruit juices. But! The high glucose levels present in sweeteners isn’t good for us. In fact for some it can be deadly! As a result I have been experimenting with plant based sugars (i.e. Stevia and Xylitol) but I’m not pleased with the results.
Recently I read about a new fruit which many of you may be familiar with.
Monk Fruit
Photo thanks to Pixabay
This bright green fruit is native to China and Thailand. The monk Fruit has been used for centuries to treat sore throats and coughs. Some believe Monk Fruit can promote a longer healthy life! The fruit ferments very quickly so unless you live in the areas where the fruit grows finding it in your local market probably won’t happen. Typically it’s available in liquid or powder form. Just exchange the Monk Fruit sugar in recipes 1:1 ratio. Monk Fruit contains zero Glucose and zero carbs! I was intrigued and though why not try it!
Monday Morning Pecan Muffins!
I used
- Shredded Carrots or Juice Pulp (1 ½ cup)
- Almond Milk (1/2 cup)
- Coconut Oil (1/3 cup)
- Lemon Zest (1 tbsp.)
- Lemon Juice (1 ½ tbsp.)
- Gluten Free Flour (2 cups)
- Chia Seeds (1 1/2 tsp)
- Baking Powder (1 tsp)
- Baking Soda (½ tsp)
- Sea Salt (1/14 tsp)
- Monk fruit in the Raw (1/2 cup)
- Pecans (chopped) 1/3 cup)
Quick Tip...
When I know I am going to have an early morning I often mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl, wet in another and then just mix the two first thing in the morning and pop them into the oven. It’s really that quick! So if you find its tough to do it all in the morning, prep the night before! You'll love it!
Carrots…
Grab the shredded carrots! It just so happens I made fresh juice this morning so I had plenty of carrots, lemon juice and zest! If you’re going to use the juice pulp leave the lemon pulp out! It will add a bitter taste to your muffins. Believe me I found out….the hard way. Combine the chia seeds with 5 tbsp. of the almond milk and let it sit for about 5 minutes
Mix dry and wet
Combine the dry ingredients into a bowl and then add the wet. Don’t forget the Chia seeds! Stir well
Chop, chop…
Those pecans! Add them to your mixture. Oh and leave a few for garnish! Now taste, you may want a bit more Monk fruit, depends on your sweet tooth!
To the Tin…
I spooned the mixture into the muffin tin lined with papers and garnished these sweet little gems with chopped pecans. You don’t have to use muffin papers…I just thought they were a nice touch. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let them sit for about 5 minutes before you dive in!
Happy Monday! I hope you love these Morning Muffins
Let me know what you think about using Monk Fruit. I would love to hear your thoughts. For those of you who cannot have sugars this just might satisfy that sweet tooth craving. I haven’t baked a lot with it but I plant to experiment more. I’ll share with you as I go!
Thanks for stopping by the Bird nest today!
And as always blessings to you all
I have never heard of monk fruit before but as I don't eat many sweets it doesn't really matter :) Can you eat it just like this or is too sweet and you have to add it somewhere to be able to eat it?
I like sweets with veggies hidden inside :) I use carrots, zucchini or beetroot a lot. It's a great way to let kids enjoy these veggies without knowing what they're eating, lol.
Thank you for sharing your recipe and have a good start of the week!
I believe the fruit itself is very very sweet. The powdered or Monk fruit in the raw is not overly sweet so you would use it as you would sugar. I haven't been able to find the fruit around me. From my research they say it ferments pretty fast. I love using my veggies in breads, muffins, crepes, pancakes....all of it. You are right its a great way to share more nutrition with the family! Thank you @delishtreats!
Wow @birdsinparadise, your muffins look amazing! I've never seen this fruit but will try to find the powder or syrup locally as it's great for those on a keto diet, thank you!
Yes, I thought you may like this option! Let me know if you like it. I have seen Monk fruit in the raw at many stores so perhaps you can find it. I know you can buy it online....do you shop that way as well? It is so handy! I hope this works with your hubby...it'll make him happy :) Thanks my friend.
I wonder why whenever i visit your posts I leave feeling hungry :)
I had heard of the Monk fruit I remember having it in some dishes in Singapore, but I am not sure I had ever seen it cut open like that, luckily I am adventrous and still would have tried the dishes with it in even after seeing it LOL
hehehe, you are too nice @tattoodjay! Thank you. I love sharing these with you guys :) I haven't found the fruit around my area. I don't think it has a very long shelf life which is why it is so readily dried as a sugar and syrup. Did you enjoy the taste in Singapore? Was it a really sweet fruit?
Me too nice, don't go saying that or you will spoil my tattooed thug reputation LOL
I don't think I have seen it here but then again I havent been looking, the Chinese Supermarkets may have it I know the one in Queens we went to a few times did have a range of the more exotic fruits even Durian
The dish it was in may have been a sweet dish if I remember right but not sure how much of that came from the monk fruit
Dang… these pecan muffins look gooooood! I’ve read a lot about monk fruit but am not sure we can find it here. I do look for it everytime I hit up a new store. I finally got my hands on 100% stevia again too, which is not my favorite but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. 😉. This post is awesome and I’m so glad you made it. I’ll have to use some of Dandays carrot pulp to make a batch of these. I wonder if they’d turn out using zucchini instead of carrot 🧐… love the creativity @birdsinparadise. You’re so awesome!!!
Well, I thought of you while I was making these...I wanted to find a special treat for you. Of course it would work with zucchini! I make bread with that all the time! If you find monk fruit in the raw let me know! Btw...if there is anything I can send to you I would love to! Just let me know! These just might fit the bill for @dandays sweet bread sweet tooth, lol
Oh my God, you are too sweet. I’ll keep searching here for monk fruit. I imagen it has to be somewhere. Dandays would totally love this bread. I just made him some peanut butter chocolate dipped cookies and home sweetened chocolate bars so he should be okay for a bit. Haha. I might play with this recipe a little, using zucchini and almond flour to coconut flour and sweetened with stevia since that’s all I have. You are the best @birdsinparadise. Thank you for this lovely puravidaville diet type bread. I’ll let you know what comes of it on my end 😉
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Wow, those look great!! Ive heard of monksfruit, but never tried it.
Have you seen it at the market or does it grow around your area? I haven't seen it yet. I would love to find it. Thank you @squishysquid!
I haven't seen or heard about this fruit before. I will try to see if they have it in here too and try it out!
Yes, let me know if you find the fruit! I haven't found it in my area yet. This might work for you :) Thanks for stopping in @lymepoet
So yummi 😋
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