I found this Trim Healthy Mama Cupcake recipe when I was browsing on Pinterest the other day. I realized that we happened to have all of the ingredients on hand for it, so Silas and I spent a little time in the kitchen making it today.
This boy. He melts my heart! I love how much he loves to help and serve. He has the sweetest heart and is always looking for ways to bless his mama.
Silas did all of the stirring and mixing and then filled up the muffin tins — with very little help from me.
Here’s the link to the recipe we used: Trim Healthy Mama Cupcake recipe.
Overall, we were happy with the end result. For the healthful ingredients they have in them, they were fairly delicious.
I probably would have loved them more if they didn’t have almond flour as their base, though. I keep telling myself I’m going to learn to like almond flour, but so far, I just can’t quite get over the texture and taste of it in baked goods. It just always tastes a little too nutty and off to me.
Is anyone else like that? Maybe I’m just weird!
I do, however, think this batter would be really yummy made in the waffle iron and slathered with butter. Or, topped with some kind of frosting. Otherwise, these were a little on the dry and bland side to me.
Have you cooked or baked anything this week? Have any new must-try recipe links to share?
I only know a little about the THM way of eating, but the recipe looks rather low on fat. Along with changing your almond flour, try adding 1-2 tablespoons butter with the coconut oil to see if it improves the texture and flavor. You could also switch around the liquid to full fat milk or cream to increase the fat content to improve the texture. (I know you like to fiddle with recipes ;-). Go for it, but take notes…)
The almond flour I can do. It’s the xylitol that I can’t stand.
I made a big batch of homemade granola. My recipe is super easy, but a little bit different than most because I use maple syrup instead of the usual brown sugar/honey.
http://thejewishlady.com/worlds-easiest-homemade-granola/
We love these zucchini chip cupcakes. We don’t even frost them, they are so good.
http://www.homeecathome.com/the-home-economist/zucchini-chip-cupcakes
I have never baked with almond flour, but Silas is a doll. He always has such a sweet smile on his face. Reminds me of my son when he was little. I miss those days!
I got s bread maker for Christmas. So far I’ve made whole wheat honey nut and French bread in it. Both yummy!
Crystal,
I made two of your delicious homemade baked goods recipes this past weekend. I made the freezer friendly 30 minute rolls for dinner. I’ve been making 2-3 at a time from my frozen stash. I had a GIANT batch of them that we froze on Christmas Day. Funny story…I was making the recipe for the first time that day, had gotten half way through and THEN noted that the recipe made 45!!!! It took us 30 minutes to get all of them formed and frozen! Lol. It was just me an my baby and my husband. No way we were going to try and eat them all at once. Also, btw, if you defrost the roll dough and then roll each individual one out they make FANTASTIC individual pizza crusts!!! Thumbs up! I also made and froze a huge batch of cinnamon rolls using your bread maker recipe. I froze them individually instead of in “pans.” Thanks for all of your hard work and posting easy tried and true delicious recipes for baked goods. Been on a tight budget and it feels less constricting when you can bake fresh cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls and pizza dough. The best part is the hard part is done once and we pull them right from the freezer!! Super easy and saves us so much money.
Yay! This makes me so happy!
Hi Crystal,
I agree with the others about the brand. Bob’s products are often so coarse-grained that I don’t use them. Even their whole wheat pastry flour is coarser than regular wheat flour from king arthur brand. So, DO try Honeyville. Also, almond MEAL vs. almond FLOUR will be coarser as it has the skins mixed in.
This is a similar recipe that we make as cupcakes and is very good. It’s not super sweet and only uses honey, but if you’re not used to sweet, it is great!
and dark chocolate cocoa tastes better to me…
http://www.mommypotamus.com/chocolate-coconut-donuts-grain-free/
I realized last night that this recipe is in the ULTIMATE HEALTHY LIVING BUNDLE – in Nourished Kitchen’s Guide to Grain free sweets and treats or baking or – i’m not remembering the title :). They really are good!
I’m planning on making a batch of these Healthier Homemade Chocolate bars today. I’ll probably make them bite size instead, for a little chocolate pick me up without too much indulgence.
http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2014/12/03/homemade-healthier-chocolate-bars-naturally-sweetened/#_a5y_p=2981058
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I’m the other way about flours, I like almond flour but rarely buy it. I use coconut flour but have a hard time getting past the flavor and texture it leaves. I did find this yummy chocolate cupcake recipe I like that uses coconut flour though, and I don’t even think about the coconut taste!!
http://owenfamily6.blogspot.com/2013/07/chocolate-cupcakes.html
I use xylitol instead of the swerve and a little bit of THM stevia powder to sweeten it more.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I tried these muffins for the first time. They were good enough for being so healthy.
http://reflectingonthesimplethingsinlife.blogspot.com/2015/01/whole-wheat-oatmeal-applesauce-banana.html
Does anyone have any recommendations for sugar substitutes? They are all so expensive that I don’t want to randomly start buying ones to try. I’ve tried Truvia (the only one at my local grocery), but it has a burnt taste that I’m not in love with. Are there better brands for baking? That’s about the only time I use sugar since I only drink water. I really need to decrease my sugar consumption!
I make my own “truvia” by using the NOW brand of erythritol or xylitol (whichever you prefer) and then adding my own stevia. You can also try the official Trim Healthy Mama sweet blend they have started producing.
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Love that Royals jersey!
Those look really good!! I’ve actually never tried almond flour. I try to eat healthy meals since I take my desserts very seriously and like to use the yummiest (not healthiest) ingredients lol!!
what is THM?
Thank you for this link Jennifer. We love Zuppa Toscana soup. Will have to try this recipe.
You can read more about it here: http://www.gwens-nest.com/trim-healthy-mama-quick-start-guide/
Or follow along with the Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/TrimHealthyMama
I was SO hesitant to try it out just because I’m not really one to jump on bandwagons, but I’ve actually LOVED eating this way and feel so much better — which has shocked this sugar loving, carb-loving girl so much!
Homemade Chinese food yesterday..beef n broccoli, egg rolls, cheesy wontons. Jalapeno poppers and banana chocolate chip cupcakes.
P.S. Love that Royals jersey!
He’s a HUGE Royals fan so that was his birthday present from Grandma & Grandpa. It was a major hit and he wears it all. the. time!
I made chocolate chip cookies this week, but they were not healthy. And I’m certainly not trim. Ha! I need to look into this THM thing. 🙂 But the whole reason I’m commenting tonight is to tell you that I watched the Sally Clarkson webcast this evening and LOVED it! You girls were SO cute! And inspiring! And it was so fun to see you “live”. I don’t know why, but I imagined you to be way more meek and mild. I love that you’re not. Not that there’s anything wrong with meek and mild. 🙂
Haha! Your comment cracked me up! 🙂
Thanks for watching… and I’m glad that you’re okay that I’m not exactly the meek and mild type. 😉
I’m slowly starting to incorporate the THM But I’m allergic to almonds and on a search for a healthy alternative for that. Kinda nice to hear I won’t miss much!
Oh, those look so delicious, Crystal! You are very blessed to have such a willing helper in the kitchen. His wife will be thankful too. 🙂
The latest thing I have tried in the kitchen is making chicken noodle soup with Trader Joe’s 21 Salute seasoning. It’s absolutely amazing! Since it’s been freezing here, it has been a wonderful meal for us recently.
I have heard only bad things about the texture and quality of Bob’s Red Mill almond flour. I use Honeyville which is recommend by many grain free bloggers and cookbooks. I used to buy it directly from Honeyville but it is now being sold at the Costco stores in my area for a few dollars less per pound.
http://elanaspantry.com/ingredients/blanched-almond-flour/
http://shop.honeyville.com/products/flours/blanched-almond-flour.html/
Thanks so much for sharing!
Honeyville Almond Flour at Costco?!?! Thank you so much!!!
I live in San Antonio and they sell the Honeyville almond flour for around $18 for a three pound bag and which is about $2 per pound less than I was paying directly from Honeyville online. I know Costco’s inventory can vary by region however.
Thanks for the recipe! I bought the book a while back after you mentioned it and I love it! I have been enjoying a lot of the recipes in the book.
Crystal… I have a wonderful THM “Snack Bars” recipe that uses 1/2 c of almond flour at a time and I usually triple it because I have to share with family and friends. That would be one way to use up that almond flour and they are sort of like a granola bar.. only I make it in little snack balls… so scrumptious. Let me know if you’d like the recipe. Oh!! and I also make a Pumpkin Cream cheese muffins recipe – THM knock off of Starbucks Pumpkin cream cheese muffins and they were a huge hit with friends- use 3c. of almond flour in one batch (15 muffins) .. yeah that’s a pricey hit… but so worth it!! Thanks for sharing the recipe though…. and your thoughts.. I slowly transition to being ok with THM desserts.. takes a lot to pass my taste buds =)
I’d love those recipes — thank you for offering! Can you either post them in the comments here or email them to: crystal @ moneysavingmom.com Thank you SO much!
I can’t wait to try these! I love healthy dessert recipes especially that include chocolate! Thanks.
I much prefer tapioca or arrowroot flours blended with coconut flour. 🙂 Almond is so dense…
I made these Almond Joy Muffin Tops with regular muffin tins but made them half sized; they were yummy and quite moist using heavy cream. For the topping, I melted my Aldi 85% dark chocolate and added some THM Sweet Blend; have you tried the sister’s sweetener yet? It is so yummy and the only stevia blend my husband has liked. Aldi’s 85% dark chocolate is THM approved and more tasty than skinny chocolate.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/194569646377701798/
Thank you so much for sharing that recipe!
I JUST found some of the THM sweetener on Amazon (been waiting for it to make it there for a long time so I could buy it with Swagbucks credit!) so I just picked some up. They don’t have the blends yet, but I’m excited to try the two kinds they do have.
Great find! You can make your own THM Sweet Blend from the 2 single products they sell:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/194569646377760390/
Thanks SO much for sharing this! Yay!
Throw your almond flour into your vitimix and it will help with the texture. sadly it’s still tastes nutty to me and can made some recipes taste odd.
Oh, that’s a GREAT idea!!
I like your waffle iron and butter idea.
I have a soup recommendation: http://kitchenserf.com/sausage-potato-kale-garlic-cream-soup/
This is a family favorite and pretty frugal. If you like the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden, you’ll love my version, it’s way better 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing!
I looove that soup, and was just thinking this week that it would be perfect for the cold weather we are having. Thank you for sharing!
I’ll just have to find a substitute for the heavy cream because I am having issues with dairy. Maybe coconut cream…
You know the cream just adds a hint of richness because in my recipe, you just add a teaspoon or half a teaspoon to each bowl before serving.
So probably coconut cream or even any other dairy substitute would work because it’s just a tiny bit being used.
I find recipes with coconut and almond flours dry too, but have found that Gwen’s berry syrup goes well with most of them! http://www.gwens-nest.com/sugar-free-berry-syrup-recipe/
Oh yum! Thanks for sharing!
I haven’t tried almond flour yet because my son that has the wheat allergy is also allergic to peanuts so we are avoiding all nuts for now. I know that Bob’s Red Mill is a popular brand, but I haven’t cared for any of their flour alternatives or mixes. Brand does make a huge difference. I use a lot of homemade oat flour in my baking now. Great cheap alternative. It will probably be even better when I get a grain mill, until then I just use my blender.
Please try Wellbee’s superfine almond flour. You can purchase it from Amazon. It makes all the difference in the world in recipes! It is nothing like the almond flour/meal I had previously purchased at the grocery store. It is almost like a powder and makes for a really light texture in baked goods.
I agree with Mrs. S, try the Honeyville blanched almond flour. Here’s a link: http://shop.honeyville.com/products/flours/blanched-almond-flour.html/ I’ve been Paleo for over 3 years and have made baked goods many times for non-Paleo friends using Honeyville’s almond flour. I have heard a lot of people exclaim the sweets were the best they’d ever had. The Bob’s Red Mill is very coarse, while the Honeyville is very fine, which makes a world of difference in baked goods. Sign up to receive e-mails from Honeyville, and they will send you coupons every 3-4 months. Happy baking!
I totally agree with everything you said about Honeyville Almond Flour. Everyone loves my baked treats made with it. I’ve adapted your Oven Fried Chicken recipe, Crystal, using an almond flour blend (with tapiocha starch and arrowroot starch) and my husband thinks it’s the best chicken he’s ever had!
I didn’t even *think* about the fact that different brands would have different textures. I’m SO grateful for this tip!
Since they are saying that it could be the consistency that you don’t like. Maybe throw it in your blendtec/vitamix and grind it up finer. 😀
I have the same issue with almond flour – the texture isn’t as fine as a wheat based flour product.
Thanks so much for sharing my recipe (I am still trying to find the perfect frosting recipe for these cupcakes!). I am definitely going to have to make them in the waffle maker now. I wonder if that would count as breakfast? 😉
If you make them in a waffle maker, it totally counts as breakfast. 😉 Thanks for the recipe to try… we had a lot of fun making it!
in the picture you have bobs red mill almond flour- that may be why you don’t like the results. Try honey vile grains, as it offers a different taste and texture that some people prefer 🙂
Thanks SO much for that suggestion… now I just have to find a good recipe to use this brand up with. 🙂
It would make a really good coating for baked chicken fingers.
Thanks for the tip! We’ve been using Bob’s Red Mill almond flour, but we’re not a huge fan of the taste and texture. I’ll have to try that brand out.
I’ve had good luck with a blend that I made for baking. One third wheat{ white) flour, on third ground almonds and one third oats.
That’s an interesting idea — thanks for sharing!
Do your girls enjoy cooking too?
They like to help me and sometimes really enjoy cooking (for instance, Kaitlynn made asked if she could help make Spaghetti for dinner tonight and did a great job of it). Other times, they would rather read or play with LEGOs, it just sort of depends on the day. Silas, on the other hand, is usually *always* ready to help with cooking! 🙂
I’m with you on almond flour. I want to like it, but I just can’t seem to get past the “I’m eating really well crushed nuts” feeling/taste, LOL
Haha! That’s *exactly* how I feel!
Amen on the texture thing! The cranberry cake THM put in the ezine is really good and sans almond flour. I just don’t do the almond or coconut flour things. But the Berry whip, fat stripping frappa, and skinny chcolates are all great successes! By the way, Merry belated Christmas Crystal! Miss you girl but love to read your updates. I had my third baby in Nov. a little boy named Henry. It has been a long time I miss our KC days. Love ya friend.
I agree. I’m not a big fan of almond flour. The other day I made a cheesecake that called for almond flour in the crust. I ground up pecans instead and it was great! Didn’t have that nutty taste at all. Maybe it was just that recipe, I don’t know, but I like it much better than almond flour.
I baked bread and made a batch of homemade bagels. And then there are the red velvet cupcakes that were hubby’s request and they are yummy. We keep them in the freezer and just take out two when we want a treat.
Yummy! Red Velvet Cupcakes!