Glucose-friendly carrot muffins

Besides the sugar-free blueberry muffins I bake regularly, there's nothing cake-like in my world because it's really not worth the havoc it wrecks on my body. But I can't pretend I don't miss cake. Especially carrot cake!

So when this amazing @sonjamk carrot cuffins recipe popped up via Levels, I paid attention. As I skimmed the ingredients, I was pretty sure it was going to be a winner, but checked it in the ZOE app to be sure and voila! These muffins get an 86 (my goal is to eat meals that get a score of 75 or higher).

Here's how these muffins score for me and I have very poor blood-glucose control (my story here). And yes, that's actual maple syrup in the recipe:

Called "Cuffins" in Sonja's original recipe (because they are cake-like) I had high hopes for these little things: I really wanted them to be carrot CAKE. And guess what? I think they are, even without icing. I'm going to give you the ingredients for Sonja's cashew icing/frosting below, but I can't handle cashews so I didn't bother with any frosting.

What I did try was eating them with full-fat Greek yoghurt. Oh man... so good. And if you eat one of these muffins with just half a cup of Greek yogurt, you get yourself over 18 grams of protein into the bargain.

Let's get into the recipe.

You need a couple of mixing bowls and a standard 12-cup muffin/cupcake tray.

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another. Then grate the carrots and chop the walnuts (or whatever nuts you generally prefer in a carrot cake).

Add the carrots and walnuts to the wet ingredients then slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.

The muffin cups should be close to full, then pop them in the oven for about 20 mins.

They're done when they're golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Pop them out onto a cooling tray for at least 10 mins before serving.

These muffins can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months so do yourself a favor and bake a double batch!

HOW TO MAKE GLUCOSE-FRIENDLY CARROT MUFFINS

PREP TIME: 15 mins
COOK TIME: 20 mins
SERVINGS: 12

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs (I haven't tried a vegan substitute but I bet it would work fine)
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of almond butter
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 and a half cups of shredded carrots
1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts (or whatever nut you prefer)
Optional: 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Cashew cream frosting (optional)

2 cups of raw cashews, soaked
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut cream OR cream cheese
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

STEP BY STEP

- Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 12-cup nonstick/silicon pan with either olive oil or baking spray. Or use silicon cupcake liners.

- Mix dry ingredients (almond flour → salt) in one bowl and wet ingredients (eggs → vanilla) in another larger bowl. Stir each well.

- Add the grated carrots and chopped walnuts to the wet ingredients.

- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl and stir until well combined.

- Divide batter evenly among the 12 cups - each cup should be full.

- Bake for ~20 minutes. Check before you take them out of the oven; temperatures may vary by oven and you want the center to be moist but not jiggly.

- Let the muffins cool on a wire rack for 10 mins before serving. Leftover muffins can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days and in the freezer for up to 6 months.

How to make Cashew Creme frosting:

- A key step is soaking the cashews for 4 hours or for a quick option, in boiling water for 20 minutes.

- Then, in a high-speed blender or food processor, blend all the ingredients together until thick and creamy.

Remember to let the carrot muffins fully cool before adding the frosting, otherwise the frosting will slide off.

How to eat pasta when your blood glucose control is poor

If, like me, you have poor blood glucose control (my story here) then sitting down to a big bowl of pasta is not on the cards. Even grain-free pasta (made from legumes etc) is going to spike your glucose, despite getting a decent score from ZOE:

But sometimes, you just want pasta! And for me, it's really just a vehicle for pesto - I LOVE good pesto. So what can you do to combine foods in a way that gives you a yummy, satisfying pasta-like experience but doesn't put your body under horrible, damaging stress? Start with a pasta that gets a decent score, like Chickapea (score above).

There are lots of other brands of dried noodles made from only legumes but I like the consistency of cooked Chickapea more than the others.

(Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.)

Now add the ingredients that will flatten the glucose spike you'd otherwise get from this meal. Start by adding a tablespoon of pesto while the pasta is still warm. Then throw in:

- 2 tablespoons of black olives (most important because fibre AND good fat)

- half a cup of broccoli

- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

- handful of cherry tomatoes

- handful of arugula

Grate some extra parmesan on top too if you like! Here's what happens to the score:

And that's how to have your pasta and eat it too. Or something.

PS: If you really want to, you can create exactly the same bowl with regular pasta and still get a score of 81. But you'd be depleting the nutritional value of the dish; legume-based noodles serve up a good amount of protein.

Pro tip from The Glucose Goddess

If you're going to go for the full pasta experience, try a Glucose Goddess hack: add a tablespoon of vinegar (any vinegar other than a syrupy balsamic) to a big glass of water and drink that before your meal. The acetic acid in the vinegar will reduce the impact of the meal on your blood glucose by up to 30%. THIRTY PERCENT!

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