Carrot Coconut Muffins (Dairy Free)

Today is the very first day of school round these parts. I have a few emotions (ok maybe more than a few) going on right now. I am excited because HOLLER!!!! It's quiet and I can sit down and blog without anyone bugging me. I mean this is kind of HUGE. The other major emotion is: Sadness- Time needs to slow down. Macy, my baby, is in Kindergarten. Wahhh. And you know, all the other emotions in between.

So what's a mom to do. Blog, duh. And make muffins, of course. In the Back to School Prep these past few weeks I have been on a muffin binge. Make all the muffins. Eat all the muffins. Enough said.

From one momma to another, I have to give you my BIG secret for back to school Prep (let's just call it BTSP). It's my freezer. Yep, that's it. My handy dandy (giant) deep freeze. You guys, muffins freeze great. And then they thaw fabulously in your child's lunchbox before lunch or snack. Or grab and thaw (in the microwave) for a quick healthy breakfast. I mean, it's genius. So I gather my favorite clean eating muffin recipes and bake. Then cool. Then store in my freezer. Need a muffin? No problem. Go to freezer and done. Why yes, you could go to the store. But if you are like me, then you want to know what is going into your kids bodies on a daily basis. #ImaJPmom Which is why you go to great lengths to prepare homemade healthy foods for your babes as often as you can.

I was at the grocery store a few weeks ago and noticed a batch of perfectly packaged muffins labeled Carrot Coconut. Immediately I thought, "YUM." And then I thought, "I could make those!" So home I went to bake. And this is what I came up with.

Carrot Coconut Muffins
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 (heaping) Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Ginger
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Organic Maple Syrup
2 Tsp Vanilla
4 Tbsp Coconut Oil
2 Eggs
2 1/2 Cups Shredded Carrots
1 Med-Lg Apple Shredded
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/4 Cup Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your muffin tin with olive oil or coconut oil to keep the muffins from sticking. In a medium bowl mix together whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, beat maple syrup, vanilla, oil, and eggs together until mixed well. Pour in almond milk and mix again. Then fold in carrots and apple. Add the flour mix into your wet mix. Fold in the coconut. Fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack and then ENJOY! 

I should also say, if you think these are good freshly baked. Just wait until the flavors marry over night! So good! 

Once they are completely cool I will place on a cookie sheet and set in my deep freeze to freeze for about an hour or (depending on if I remember or not) two. I do this so the muffins don't stick together. Once they are frozen a little, I will then toss into a labeled freezer bag.

Happy Baking, my friends!

P.S. If you are wondering what the hek #ImaJPmom means... Hit me up at rebeka.beavers@yahoo.com and I'll give you the deets.