Can you say drool worthy?
I’m not sure about you, but sweet potato is one of my favourite things to eat! Especially when you roast it in the oven, it becomes so incredibly sweet and amazingly delicious. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that its loaded with beta-carotene aka. vitamin A (hello anti-aging), vitamin C (immune protection at it’s finest), it’s amazingly anti-inflammatory and it’s got a load of gut healthy fibre.
So if you’re not a sweet potato fan (um… you’re crazy!), I hope I’ve convinced you thus far.
I’ve been wanting to make sweet potato muffins for-evvverr now and I just couldn’t figure out if I wanted to use almond flour, or coconut flour, or sweeten with maple syrup, or have it be egg free or add in protein powder… oh baking dilemmas!
And finally, I landed on these amazing gems and got lucky that on my first attempt, they turned out ahhhhmazing!
I decided to call these Sweet Potato MACRO Muffins for a reason – they are loaded with healthy carbohydrates (from sweet potato), protein from eggs and fat from coconut oil; plus they also contain lots of fibre, as I mentioned earlier.
Macronutrients consist of carbs, protein and fat – basically the ‘food’ you actually eat. These are your actually calories. Each macronutrient is almost always found in every item of food, whether that’s a piece of sushi or a raw vegetable; the only difference is how the macronutrients are balanced.
As an example, the nutritional composition of an avocado is generally made up of 75% (good) fats, 20% carbohydrates and 5% protein, therefore this is clearly a fat-based food. On the other hand a banana consists of 95% carbohydrates, with only small amounts of protein and fats.
Micronutrients on the other hand are your vitamins, minerals and antioxidants – they keep the body functioning optimally and are crucial in order to maintain energy levels, metabolism, cellular function, and physical and mental wellbeing. From everything to vitamin A, C, B vitamins, Magnesium, Manganese and Zinc – each macronutrient contains varying amounts of micronutrients.
But here’s where it gets tricky – say you’re on a 1500 calorie diet to lose weight. Most people have this idea that they can eat whatever they want as long as it equals to 1500 calories.
But, your micronutrients play a crucial role in those 1500 calories. You can eat 1500 calories worth of oreos but you’ll also be eating way too much sugar, have little to no protein to maintain muscle mass and support growth and repair in the body, you’ll probably become insulin resistant, you’ll have dull skin and over all – feel like shit!
Your micronutrients build your body! We all know there is a difference between eating a few oreos for a snack versus eating an apple with a handful of almonds. What’s better for you? What is actually building your body? Building and supporting your hormones? Fueling your brain?
Ok, I think you get the picture.
So what about those muffins? Well, you can enjoy them knowing they not only contain all your macronutrients but are also loaded with lots of vitamins and minerals to support your health and body. #bakingwin
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sweet potato, mashed (*see notes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ lakanto (monk fruit sweetener - alternatively you can you coconut sugar or maple syrup)
- ⅓ cup pecan, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp shredded coconut
- 12 pecans for garnish
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease or line a muffin pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk together coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
- In a large bowl beat together eggs, mashed sweet potato, vanilla extract, lakanto and coconut oil.
- Add the dry mix into the wet mix and stir until all lumps are gone.
- Fold in chopped pecans and shredded coconut.
- Divide batter into 12 muffin cups and top each with a pecan.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- *For sweet potato - I roasted a whole sweet potato in the oven at 400F for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Roasting it helps to bring out more sweetness and flavour. I popped this in the oven early in the morning so I had it ready to get my bake on in the afternoon. Alternatively, you can peel the sweet potato, add it to a pot of water and bring it to a boil. Once fully cooked, mash it with a potato masher.
- *Lakanto - I personally love using this calorie free, sugar free sugar alternative. If you don't have it on hand, you can use 1/4 cup coconut sugar or 1/4 cup maple syrup. Remember, the sweet potato is sweet enough, so you only need a little.
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