These look insanely amazing. They only look a small fraction as amazing as they taste. Try as you might, you can never get yours to taste or look as great as these because theeeeese muffin had a crazy special ingredient in them. No, no, no, not that kind of special ingredient (though I’m thinking pot muffins should be served in retirement homes, but that’s for another day).
The truth of the matter is that I didn’t make these. That’s why they’re so special. They were made by my secret weapon, the spunky, hilarious, adorable, bundle of energy that is my sweetest assistant Tova.
We met when she joined my two week cooking program last Spring and it was kind of love at first sight. I loved her energy and she loved cooking and cleaning. I should marry the girl! Through the Fall, the Tovantor has been assisting my full to the brim classes.
The greatest compliment I get from my classes is when people tell me that they are using the recipes, that their family loves them and that they have changed the way they eat on a daily basis. These splenderiffic muffins that Tova created take that joy to a whole new level when she created an amazing gluten-free recipe, modifying the flours and sweeteners to develop what us little a-types like to call “Perfection”.
What makes for a perfect muffin?
- Moist
- Gluten-free
- Uses natural sweeteners but just enough, never too much
- High in fibre
- Contains protein
- Uses spices that make it a match made in muffin heaven with a cup of tea.
Check, check, check, check, check, aaaaaaaaand check.
Well done Tova. Well done. And the student has become the teacher.
Keep checking your local listings for our new show, “Meghan and Tova Make Love In The Kitchen”, complete with fits of giggles until we weep, hilarious mishaps, ridiculous stories and amazement over Tova’s ability to make 5’1″ me look big.
Right so we might not have a show yet, so come check out a class and see us in action. Still room in Monday’s Intro To Whole Foods Class.
Tova Chia Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups steamed and pureed pumpkin or 16 oz. can organic pumpkin (make sure there is only pumpkin listed on the ingredient list)
1 Tbsp. chia seeds, ground (use a coffee or spice grinder)
1 cup gluten-free flour of choice (brown rice and quinoa work nicely as a mix)
1/2 cup tapioc starch (could also use arrowroot)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs (or egg substitute)
1/4 cup high-quality extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup agave nectar (I might use a little less personally- but it’s a matter of taste)
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
- Pre-heat oven to 350°
- Mix all ingredients together
- Spoon into lined muffin tray
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until tooth pick insterted comes out clean
- Eat one, freeze the rest or you’ll be in trouble.
Scrumptious muffins; and OH MY GOODNESS I love your necklace!
These look delicious!! Thanks Tova!
I am definately making these this weekend. I already have a roasted pumpkin sitting in the fridge. Thanks Tova and Thanks Meghan for sharing. You are the best of the best.
Ha ha! I was actually looking for ‘tova’ in them, thinking it was a special superfood ingredient I hadn’t heard of! I guess it kind of is!
Mmmm! I’m going to make these today. Thanks Tova and Megan!
you are a very funny writer, i always get a kickout of what you say, and i like the ingredients in these muffins!
Hey there Meghan! These muffins look incredible. (Actually at first I thought they were cocoa muffins or something – but I guess the dark hue is from the cinnamon or something.) Either way, cocoa pumpkin muffins could potentially be pretty radical, dontcha think?
Well, I’d better try this recipe first though! Hmmm…I do have chia seeds – but how do you grind them?!
These are definitely a must make. I just bought a can of pumpkin at the store. I am looking forward to using it in these.
Ohhh, yum!
Thanks Meghan and Tova!!!!
Oh I am so excited to try these! I too though tova was going to be some rare exotic superfood i would have to go hunting for to make these, ha
Beautiful muffins! Now I’m wishing I’d bought the container of chia seeds I saw when I was in the city…oh well, next time!
Hey Meghan,
I love your site!!!! I was wondering if there was a food processor you would recommend! I’ve never had one and was doing a little research on this and was wondering your opinion.
Thanks!!!
I’ll have to make these, they look so good! I love using natural sweeteners in recipes, but am just starting to experiment with GF recipes. Can’t wait to see how this tastes!
Love your necklace and bracelet by the way! It’s gorgeous!!!
Tova is the secret ingredient and glad that you Meaghan have found her. We, her family in Ottawa, have known of the existence of this secret ingredient for x years – will not divulge of course. Glad to finally meet you in pics. Good luck the two of you as you close 2009 and plan for amazing things in 2010. Sandra. 10/4
I just made these and they are SO yummy! The only change I had to make was to bake them for a total of 28 minutes.
[...] I followed a recipe from Meghan‘s Every Day Superfoods Tutorial again, but a very similar recipe (minus the spirulina) can be found on her blog: Chia Pumpkin Muffins. [...]
I bake a batch of these every 3 weeks or so for my 13 month old snacks. (He’s been snacking on these since he was about 10 months old). I’m keeping him away from gluten until he’s older, since I have a gluten intolerance. I use butternut instead of pumpkin (cheaper), and flax instead of egg, and skip the agave so they’re not quite so packed with sugar. Then I make small muffins and freeze them, and pull one out per two days or so for when he needs a finger-food type snack. He LOVES them. Seriously, he requests them specifically. He’ll march over to the fridge, and when I open it he’ll point right to the container that has his muffin in it (I don’t always give in of course, they’ve still got quite a bit of sugar!). Thanks for a great recipe for a convenient snack that I feel comfortable feeding my little man!
Hi Meghan, thanks for the recipe. I just made them, and they are still hot out of the oven. The batter was delicious, and they smell delicious, I can’t wait until they cool down to eat them. I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and no agave, and I used grapeseed oil because we just ran out of olive oil.
Coffee grinder, magic bullet or mortar and pestle if you like to kick it old school. Add in some cocoa and let me know hoe they go!
The very best I can recommend is the vita mix- it takes the job of all other kitchen appliances and I love it to bits. Second to that one, for my classes I have the basic Oster food processor that I got on sale for about 59.99. But if you can afford to get the best, I am all for the vitamix!
Thank you Sandra! Amazingness is already brewing!!!