I hate diet food. I have always thought fat-free cookies, sugar-free ice cream and “lite” anything is just plain gross. I’d rather drink water than Diet Coke, and I’d rather eat nothing than some kind of weird, allegedly healthy frankenfood. But since I have a few very serious allergies, I certainly understand that many people need to avoid certain ingredients. So, when I was invited to a bootcamp and potluck brunch for San Diego Tone It Up members (yes, I clearly need to tone this up!), I thought I’d try converting my favorite muffin recipe into something free of gluten and white sugar… but still delicious.

Let me tell you: It wasn’t easy. I figured coconut flour was a “duh” choice, but I didn’t realize when I picked it up that the conversion is not even close to 1:1. You need to use FAR less coconut flour than regular flour, and add more liquid. I also couldn’t find any unsweetened shredded coconut in my cupboards (even though I swear I had some), so I left that out. I figured the coconut oil and coconut flour added enough fiber and good fat, though I did throw some pecans in there for texture.

I used coconut sugar and maple syrup so these are still quite sweet, even without white sugar. And though they do have a lot of good stuff in them, I don’t think we should go so far as to call them “healthy.” They’re still muffins, after all.

Gluten-free banana, coconut and pecan muffins (Makes about 24)
5 overripe bananas
3/4 cup coconut oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
2/3 cup coconut flour
Generous/overflowing 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup roughly chopped pecans

Put the peeled banans in a large mixing bowl and smash them with a fork. Melt the coconut oil and use a hand-held electric mixer to combine it with the bananas. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each into the banana mixture, then add the coconut sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and beat well to combine. Add the coconut flour, xantham gum and cinnamon and beat for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture seems pretty smooth.

Preheat the oven to 375 F and allow the batter to sit for about 15 minutes, while the oven heats up. Place muffin papers in each of the cups of two muffin pans.

Once the oven is ready and the batter has sat for a bit, stir or beat the pecan pieces in until combined. Spoon or pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each at least 3/4 of the way full.

Bake muffins for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans and bake an additional 10-15 minutes more, until the centers are baked through. Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes or so before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.