Remember how I did a little sugar detox a few weeks ago? Ya, that was cool.
And for a like 4 days I wondered if I should try going paleo? That was cool too. I think I only talked about this on twitter though…
Neither of which stuck, shocking!
However, I have been eating FAR less sugar, and I’m happy about that. But the whole paleo bit I just can’t hang with. Which might lead you to wonder why I even considered it, shoot, I wonder why I even considered it…
My sugar cravings get intense! They can not be pushed aside or brushed off until later. I can’t have a little square of chocolate and be satisfied (unless by ‘little square’ you mean an entire king size Hershey bar?!). No no no. These cravings get SO bad that if I don’t get sugar RIGHT THEN I will break into tears. In fact, my husband has been told not to even mention certain ‘desserts’ unless he has EVERY intention on delivering them, that instant. Just the mention of certain foods or desserts triggers a craving… and if it’s not satisfied, let the waterworks begin…
I think our cravings can tell us what our body is lacking something, therefor we should eat it. However, I do not think a sugar craving means we need a honkin piece of cake. Mentally and emotionally, I might NEED that piece of cake. But physically, no, my body doesn’t need it. So I researched sugar cravings and I started to wonder if my sugar cravings were so frequent and intense because my body was lacking protein. I mentally track my daily protein intake and while the ‘grams’ are technically high enough, maybe my body is going through a phase where it requires more then ‘normal?’ So I went with that rational and decided I’d give paleo a whirl.
I’m just not a big meat eater and a diet based primarily on meat isn’t for me. The veggie/fruit part, heck ya, I’m all for that! I also really like beans. And dairy. And that’s not ‘paleo’ approved.
Anyway, while I was pretending to be paleo for all of 5 minutes, I made muffins. I wanted to prove that eating a ‘low carb’ diet didn’t mean you had to deprive yourself of ‘pastries.’ Sure, you can’t have a croissant. Or one of the other 75 bazillion delicious carb and sugar filled treats. But these, you CAN have these if you are on a low carb, paleo, gluten free, low sugar diet.
*Disclaimer: I realize if you are a super strict paleo, pineapple is out. But for a sweet treat, I’m going to venture to say the natural sugars in pineapple are better then the refined sugar in other treats?!?! (try apple, pear, or mango instead of pineapple)
These were really delicious! None of the flavors overpower the other, in fact, they compliment each other very nicely. However, the texture is a different story. It’s a good story, but a different one. The almond meal adds a heartiness, the coconut adds a chewy texture and the pineapple lends a sweet juicy pop to each bite. I loved it. My husband (the pineapple hater) picked out the little tidbits of pineapple, but he liked the rest. So you be the judge. If you like all of these flavors, I’d be willing to bet you’ll like these. If you don’t like these flavors, I’m gonna guess you won’t like them. How’s that for scientific evidence?
Oh, so where does this leave me with my ‘diet?’ I’m just back to my normal, mainly vegetarian, daily routine. I am focusing on incorporating more vegetarian protein sources though, like beans, yogurt, quinoa, and almonds (or pecans, walnuts, peanut butter).
Raw almonds, one of my favorite snacks.
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond meal
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp almond extract (can sub vanilla extract)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (I used light)
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pineapple (canned or fresh)
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup unsweetend coconut flakes
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tins.
In a large bowl, give the eggs a quick whisk. Add in the rest of the ingredients (in no particular order) and stir everything until it’s incorporated.
Scoop into muffin tins (lined with paper liners or just greased).
*I use an ice cream scoop because it’s easy and so each tin gets the same amount.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.
Store in an air tight container up to 3 days (maybe longer, but they were gone after 3 days)
Makes 12-18 muffins, depending on the size of your pan. I got exactly 16 muffins using a mini bundt pan.
http://www.fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.com/2012/01/tropical-tea-cakes-paleo/
I'm a wife, mom, runner, recipe developer, freelance writer, early riser, Christ follower, peanut butter lover, frozen yogurt addict. I think the majority of the food I consume should be life giving; healthy, natural raw fruits and veggies. Which allows me to have room to splurge occasionally, and I take full advantage of it. 
I’ve considered going paleo before, but it’s just not for me either. These muffins sound yummy though!
I am SO making these. I have a paleo friend who is always looking for ways to get a sweet treat in. This is it! :-D Yum!
Great recipe! These look very flavorful, and a good healthy alternative when trying to cut down on sweets :)
When I went to NOT run my marathon in san Francisco, I met a girl who WAS running and was paleo…and I was totally baffled by it. Mainly because it excludes just about everything in my diet. And I think I eat pretty healthy. I was just baffled.
Paleo muffins, though…those I can handle.
Lovely ingredients – almond meal and cococut milk is sure to please!
Mary x
Muffins look great!
Love the flavours! I’ve been playing around with paleo recipes and coconut flour lately – but being mainly veggo there is no interest in the diet as a whole. I’ve been off sugar (except a bit of fruit) for over a year and found that chromium (as a vitamin pill) really helped to nearly get rid of the cravings and balance my body out!
Totally making these! Been paleo since November and never looked back!
I agree about paleo. I could maybe do it for a week or two, but there are too many items that I cannot live without.
Though I have heard of paleo…I know nothing about it!!
I’m with you…I just can’t eat that much meat. I love the fruit and veggies…and the beans, of course the grains. We eat so much alike…I could have written most of what you did here myself!
Am loving these little muffins, they are so cute. And I really like anything made with pineapple…such a perfect sweetness to it. What a great recipe!
I’m Paleo, have been for about 4 months. You should try a whole30 detox to get a handle on your sugar cravings. It worked for me big time and I have a HUGE sweet tooth.
Great recipe idea! Never hurts to have fruity deliciousness :)
I came across your blog while I was looking for a different paleo muffin recipe. I’m paleo and pregnant, so I need the extra calories. I also really like the Whole30 as a sugar detox, and their blog has a lot of great info on healthy eating. I disagree that paleo is a meat based diet. There are some folks who go overboard on bacon, but if you dig a little deeper you’ll find out that paleo folks eat a TON of vegetables and a normal amount of protein. I eat more vegetables now than I did when I was a vegetarian!
I just made these muffins and was wondering about the texture. I left them in longer than 25 min so they would get more brown. A knife and toothpick came out clean. They are now cool and I just had to taste one. I wouldn’t describe the inside as “doughy” like a muffin using flour, but it is a bit more moist than I would have thought. It reminds me of the consistency of an egg casserole. Is this how they should be? I love the crunchiness of the coconut and the flavor of the almond meal. I wish they were a “bit” sweeter, but I do like them. Thanks for sharing!
I made these today and loved them. Probably one of the better Paleo “treats” I have had. My 17 month old went to town on them too. :) Thanks for the recipe!
Amy, sooooo glad you (and the baby) liked them. And thanks for letting me know :)
My hubby and I have just started on the Paleo path and we love it! I found this recipe and made it immediately. The muffins turned out great! In the future I will substitute different fruits depending on the season. Thanks for a great recipe!
Any idea the carb count on these muffins?
I’m not sure what I did wrong but even after an hour in the oven these were still mushy. :(