Paleo Twist for my Muffin Obsession

Well, I'm in the midst of doing some food prep for Week 3 of Paleo eating. As I mentioned before, I came across Paleo when I was searching for some recipes for eliminating carbs from breads as part of my 3.60 Challenge that I have going along with my Made to Crave devotional. I ended up seeing several references to Paleo, and also knew of a gal at church who had been doing the Whole30. So, I just decided it was good timing to dive in to a Whole30 of my own...I'm not being super strict on the nitty-gritty but am staying away from all grains and dairy for 30 days. It has been a great "reset" for me in how I think about portion size and the nutritional make-up of my day...and is also going to serve as a test when I slowly reintroduce a bit of dairy and some grains back in following the 30 days. For now, though, I'm chugging right along with the proteins, veggies and fruit, and nuts...I'm actually enjoying the search for recipes and trying some new twists to my love for muffins for breakfast and snacks. Quite simply, I couldn't imagine going 30 days without making some type of muffin...love them! Although I have followed the other handful of muffin recipes very closely, this one I adapted a bit (primarily because I didn't have a couple of things and wanted to add a bit more spice to the mix). I think I may add some protein powder to the mix after the Whole30 to balance out the protein/carb/fat stats. I mixed these carrot-apple muffins (photo left) up last Sunday evening (along with the banana spice (photo bottom) and pumpkin-banana muffins (photo top)); and, as with most of the muffins I make, they were mixed up with my favorite spoon from Czech Republic. Without further ado, here's my adapted version of these tasty, densely packed muffins:

Paleo Carrot-Apple Muffins
Adapted from Nourish Paleo Foods
Yield: 12 muffins
2 apples ( I used Fuji)
2 c. water
1/2 c. dates (pitted)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. almond meal
2 c. shredded carrots (I put about 25 baby carrots through my mini food processor)
1/4 c. chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/12 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pumpkin or apple pie spice
1/4 c. coconut oil
3 eggs

Phase 1: Make Apple-Date Puree
- Peel and shred one apple. (Run that lil' apple through the food processor!)
- Put apple and water in a small pan. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add dates and simmer for another 15-20 minutes, or until water is nearly evaporated. Keep an eye on the pot at this point, and stir often.
- Pull off the burner, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Put mixture into a blender; add vanilla.
- Puree until smooth. Set aside.

Phase 2: Muffins!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) and add liner to a muffin pan.
- Peel second apple and chop into small pieces. (Or, you can also put this apple thorugh the food processor for a finer texture in the muffin vs. bites of apple.)
- Shred carrots in the food processor.
- In large bowl, mix chopped apple, almond meal, carrots, pecans, raisins, spices, and salt.
- Add coconut oil and apple-date puree.
- Whisk eggs and add to bowl.
- Stiruntil all combined.
- Fill muffin liners until almost full. (They don't rise much.)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy! These muffins freeze really well too!

They also pack a punch nutritionally: 1 muffin = ~260 calories, 18 g. fat, 21 g. carbohydrates, 7g protein