It's zucchini season here in Ontario and although I love zucchini's fresh off the grill (with a little EVOO) nothing beats some freshly baked zucchini goods. Especially when I am 8 months pregnant and looking for a healthy sweet treat! Not only does the unassuming zucchini add a lot of moisture to your baking, it is rich in antioxidants and contains a pretty decent amount of vitamin A and C.
Although we don't grow any zucchini ourselves, we are lucky enough to have access to Gourmet Garden Organics who supply us with the most flavorful and delicious veggies all summer long!
When looking for a good recipe for baked goods, I often turn to Angela Liddon of Oh She Glows as she creates easy to make recipes with great taste profiles. Although her recipes are always healthy, they are not always gluten free but often still taste great with a little modification! As I have Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, I eat almost exclusively gluten free as it has helped my thyroid heal tremendously. If you are interested in learning more about why removing gluten from the diet can help the thyroid gland, read my post here.
These muffins, based off Angela's delicious chocolate zucchini muffin recipe are moist, flavorful and just the right amount of sweet- perfect to pair with an afternoon tea or for breakfast (I had one this morning with a smoothie).
I made these muffins with oat flour (I simply just blend whole oats in a high speed blender and voila- oat flour). Other options are buckwheat flour, almond flour or banana flour (these last 2 are paleo options, banana flour is AIP and acceptable on phase 1 of the The Thyroid Healing Diet).
Over the years, I have often found eggs not to be necessary in many baking recipes. Yes, eggs are delicious (and nutritious!) however I am sensitive to egg whites and also try to avoid them. These muffins are made with flax "eggs". I used whole flax seeds, but you can also use ground flax or chia seeds (if you are AIP or on phase 1 of the Thyroid Healing Diet you can simply make gelatin "eggs")
Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free Zucchini Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Prep Time 20-30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
soy free, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, nut free, dairy free
Ingredients
1 tbsp flaxseed
1 1/4 cup non dairy milk (I used oat milk)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups oat flour
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pink salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup packed grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
Instructions
Preheat over to 350F. Grease a muffin tin with oil (I always make sure my muffin tins are not aluminum and choose stainless steel instead)
In a small cup, stir the flaxseed with 3 tbsp of water and set aside. This will be our flax "egg".
In a small bowel, combine the oat milk and the lemon juice. Set aside
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the flax and water mixture to the bowl with the oat milk and lemon juice. Stir in the vanilla. Then, add this wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix well
Add in the grated zucchini to the mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes or until the muffins slowly spring back when touched with a spoon.
Let cool, and then enjoy!
If you enjoyed this recipe, I have lots of other low allergen and thyroid friendly recipes in my book Healing Your Thyroid Naturally which will be released December 2020!