Feijoa and Coconut Muffins
Experimenting in the kitchen with different fruits can be exciting and challenging. For me, playing with the New Zealand Feijoa fruit has been incredibly fun. Coming from South Africa, I had never ever heard of such fruit, never mind tasting it. So I was ‘over the moon’ excited to try out this cute little odd shaped fruit, especially being someone who loves trying different fruits and vegetables. I instantly fell in love with the flavor, and that was me, hooked π So you can imagine how happy I was when a lovely friend blessed me with a whole bag full of the funny little fruits, straight off the tree from her friends farm. So incredibly grateful was I!
Having literally zero carbon footprint, and falling into the ‘eat local’ where possible category, I had to put my thinking cap on to decide what I’d make with so many delicious Feijoa’s. I came up with a tasty muffin recipe. Best of all it’s vegan friendly, gluten free, refined sugar free and dairy free! Whoop whoop!!!
So, the end result was a muffin that’s not too light, and not too dense. Quite moist inside, as the coconut tends to adsorb a lot of moisture. A lovely golden colour on the outside, and a delicious warming flavor, that really really goes down so well with a warm cuppa herbal tea. Aaahh what bliss! Love love love it π
Now, feijoa’s are not only delicious, they actually are pretty good for you too. They are low in calories, are very rich source of soluble dietary fiber, and are loaded with vitamins, and antioxidants. They are a good source of Vitamin C and contain an array of B vitamins (pantothenic acid, niacin, vitamin-B6), and vitamin E and K, as well as minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, and manganese. They’re high in iodine as well as foliates which are important in the development of blood cells. They boast so many health benefits and definitely score high on my top fruit and veg lists.
- 1 Cup Gluten Free Flour Mix
- 1/2 Cup Dessicated Coconut
- 50g Coconut Oil (melted)
- 1 Cup Feijoa flesh (approx 8 medium feijoas)
- 1 TBS Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 'Cheggs' (2 Tsp Chia seeds and 8 Tsp water to form gel)
- 2 Tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Tsp Bicarb
- 1/2 Cup Nut Milk (I used almond milk)
- 4 TBS Organic 100% Apple Syrup (or Agave, honey, maple syrup)
- 1 Tsp Grated Ginger
- Pinch of Himalayan Salt
- In a mixing bowl add the flour, desiccated coconut, baking powder, bicarb and salt.
- In a small bowl, add the chia seeds and water and leave to absorb and become a thick gel, a 'chia-egg'.
- Begin to scrape out the flesh of the feijoa's. I do this by cutting them in half, and then using a teaspoon to scoop out the flesh. Place into a mixing bowl.
- Add the melted coconut oil to the feijoa flesh, along with the chia mixture, milk, sweetener, & grated ginger and stir.
- Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
- In a greased (with coconut oil) 12 mold muffin tray, scoop the mixture evenly into each mold.
- Bake in a fan oven at 180 degrees for approx 30-40 mins, until golden brown. To test stick a tooth pick into the middle muffins and if they come out clean, they're good to come out.
- Serve with a warm cup of your favorite herbal tea.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and a massive thank you to Lee-Anne for such a generous gift of nutritious little green gems π
