Apple Cinnamon Muffins (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Paleo)
I might need a Paleo baking intervention. I’ve gotten the hang of it now and the treats are flowing freely again in this house.. but my tummy troubles have not disappeared. (They are still undiagnosed.. go here for more of my story.) Now my wheels are turning again, trying to figure out why.
I thought that changing things around, doing things the Paleo/gluten-free/lots-of-other-stuff-free way that things might work themselves out. And now, I’m thinking maybe I need to go further.. more drastic.. start from scratch and heal (aka GAPS or something similar). I’m trying to figure out what more I can do.
But I’m realizing now that I can’t do it.
I can’t heal myself. I can’t do this in my own power. I believe in a God who heals. The God who came to earth and died for me, who goes before me and stands beside me. The God who changed my heart- I certainly didn’t change it myself. So why am I believing that I can change myself now?
“Agree with God and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if you remove justice far from your tents, if you lay gold in the dust … then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift your face up to God. You will make your prayer to him and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will decide on a matter and it will be established for you and light will shine on your ways.” Job 22:21-28
It is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day issues of life and believe that if we just tried harder, if we just planned better, if we were just better people that things would go our way. But the truth is that God is the perfect planner and his perfect plan for us has been in motion since before there was time. He is good and his plan is good, even if we can’t see it (or if we have a different definition of the word ‘good’). His word says that if we agree with him, good will come to us- but it doesn’t say when. Maybe it won’t be until Heaven, but it will come; so long as we believe in him and his promises.
So maybe I will try another approach to healing, maybe I won’t. I don’t know now. But I know I will be spending time with the Lord, talking and listening. Trusting in the one who knows suffering better than any man. And rejoicing because I know the end of the story (spoiler alert: it’s a happy one. :))
- 2 cups of almond meal
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup of maple syrup
- 1 tbs of cinnamon
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 2 tsp of vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend the eggs together in a separate small bowl.
- Mix together all the above ingredients and slowly stir in the blended eggs.
- Pour the batter evenly into 12 muffin baking cups.
- Cook 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
I am guessing you have already gone for food allergy testing right? A friend of mine just got diagnosed with a casein allergy, which I didn’t realize was so prevelent, but I have also heard of people being allergic to really random things. I would recommend it if you haven;t, and maybe seeking out a homeopathic doctor instead of relaying on “modern” medicine. Good luck to you!
I haven’t had official testing, no- I am working with a GI doctor right now waiting on some other results, but that might be a next step. Thanks for the advice!
Hi Natalie, thought I would just quickly share some info that may help your tummy issues. I had tummy/digestive issues for 5 years, not fun! After many tests, endoscopys etc coming back saying I was fine and was no allergic to anything and GP’s telling me it was IBS and I’d just have to live with it, I decided that was definitely not the answer I was looking for. The path that led me to recovery was seeing a couple of naturopaths. Initially I was told it was a candida overgrowth in the gut so had to go on an anti-candida diet and start taking herbs to kill off the bad bacteria. Things tarting improving a little bit but I did struggle avoiding sugar and alcohol etc. I then saw another Naturopath and after doing an expensive but well worth it stool analysis test, it came back showing I had really high amounts of bad bacteria taking over my insides, causing all my issues, at last an answer!!! So again on to the delicious (not really) herbs to kill it off then on to different herbs to balance out the good bacteria, whilst taking pro-biotics and avoiding wheat, dairy, sugar. SO 1/1.5 years later I can happily say my tummy is 99% better and we pretty much stick to a paleo diet but I can now have the very odd bit of wheat, dairy and sugar with out any issues. SO my advice, see a Naturopath. Although it was expensive, it was my health and nothing is too expensive to enjoy quality of life = ) Hope this has been helpful.. Lisa
Thank you so much for the insight! We sound a lot alike- I was seeing a nutritionist for a while and we came to similar conclusions. Hopefully I will get similar results!
Research Leaky Gut. If you’re like many others, you’ve taken NSAIDS and Antibiotics. Also if you have a gluten sensitivity, you can also exhibit other food intolerances. Speaking from my own experience, seek out an “energy” naturopath to seek some clear answers on your food tolerances. Another thing you can do in the mean time is eliminate from your diet: Dairy, wheat, gluten, corn and nightshades. Do this just for a week to 10 days and note how you feel. Then slowly, add each item back in and again note how you feel.
One more thing… Eat only grass fed beef when you do eat beef and only wild caught fish, never farm raised. As much as you can avoid putting any toxins in your body the better.
Thanks for the advice! This is an older post- I have since gone on the GAPS diet and have seen much improvement 🙂
Natalie, check out Peter Osborne online. He has some interesting views. his specialty is GF patients who are still not healing and he believes in giving up all grains (including corn and rice) and possibly nightshades like potatoes and tomatoes. Although I am a diagnosed celiac i am starting to have more problems and may have to give up corn ….we shall see….if i have to give up brown rice pasta and tomatoes i may need an intervention! Love to your mama (my college buddy!)
Those muffins are beautiful. I will totally make some if we can get eggs back in the diet!
On a completely unrelated note, I LOVE those goose measuring cups! Dangerously cute.
Thank you! You might be able to substitute flax or chia “eggs” for the eggs – I’m not sure how many you can substitute without changing the texture too much, but it’s worth a try! And yes- the goose cups are the best! They are usually just on display, though- I couldn’t bear it if I broke one!
Regarding what you said about still feeling sick, despite your efforts to eat well, take a look at this: http://lyngenet.com. The author is a holistic dietician based in Dobbs Ferry, NY. She has put together an elimination diet that she calls “The Plan” that is designed to help you root out your own, personal food sensitivities. She published a book in January and it’s really taking off. I’ve been doing it now for a little over 2 months and have discovered that I am not really sensitive to eggs or bread, unless I eat them together. I never would have figured this out without this program. Now I know why gluten free never worked for me – I’m sensitive to rice flour (but not rice). Paleo wasn’t the answer either because I’m sensitive to red meat, green beans, and tomatoes. Day by day, I’m figuring out what is right for me. And it won’t be some one-size-fits-all program. I hope you’ll take a look and give it a try. Let me know if you have any questions.
P.S. The recipe looks good and will probably work with my food sensitivities. Thank you for developing it. 🙂
Thank you for the advice, I’ll look into it!
Check out the Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates! Very similar to Paleo but focuses on restoring GI health and how to properly combine foods. This book has definitely been a life changer for me! Love your recipes btw!
Do you think this recipe would still turn out alright if I replaced the eggs for flax eggs to make it vegan?