Since discovering the negative effects that foods like gluten, dairy and other grains have on my body, I’ve come to accept that I would never again eat some of the foods I love.

And that’s fine, because some of the food I was eating was truly junk and nobody should eat it. But others, well I think they deserve a place on my menu.

So, I’ve done what I usually do in a situation like this – experience denial and continue bad habit, stop said habit and get really grouchy and, finally, get creative to create a healthier alternative.

And so, after lots of experimenting, I’ve come up with a recipe for a tasty breakfast that is free of foods that make me feel like poo. Ideally there would be few ingredients and just take a minute to whip up, but sometimes when you replace something, you have to add a few extra ingredients to boost the flavor.

Simply Scrumptious Breakfast Muffins

*This is based on the Universal Muffin recipe found in The Complete Tightwad Gazette, my most favorite Mother’s Day present ever (thanks honey!). All items with an * are non-essential to the recipe – they were “add-ins” to make the muffins taste how I wanted them to.

1 c almond flour – pulse some slivered blanched almonds in the food processor a few times
1 1/2 c Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free flour – if you can eat normal flour, just do 2 1/2 cups of flour, or add some oats in there
1/4 tsp xanthan gum – I’m going to experiment with arrowroot powder since this does contain corn. Anyone have advice on this? Omit if you use normal flour.
2 tsp baking powder – if you accidentally put 2 tbsp, you will have extra fluffy muffins 😉
*1 tsp cinnamon
*1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
*3/4 c finely shredded coconut – I pulsed this in the food processor a few times
1/4 c coconut oil – melted – feel free to use melted butter
1/4 c honey
1/4 c pure maple syrup – ok, you can use all honey or agave nectar or even sugar. I split this up because…well, I ran out of honey.
1 c applesauce – in place of milk
1 egg
*1/4 tsp almond extract
*1 tsp vanilla – though I say this is optional, vanilla is never optional for me. 🙂

Combine all dry ingredients and make a well in the center, then combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. Put in muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 min, until they’re golden brown and cooked all the way through.

And a muffin breakfast wouldn’t be complete without a smoothie, so here’s one that I’ve been making lately. Granted, the quantities are an estimate – I hate measuring. This is for a lot of smoothie – to feed six of us. If there are less of you, halve the recipe.

Pretty Pink Smoothie

Add to blender:

1 cup orange juice

1 cup almond milk

2 oranges, peeled and split into quarters

2 bananas, peeled and broken into small pieces

3 medium carrots with the ends cut off and broken into small pieces

Fill the rest of the blender with frozen strawberries

Put on lid and start your blender. I recently got a Blendtec and I LOVE it. It makes a great smoothie and all sorts of other things. I use the whole juice button to get everything really well blended. If your blender has issues, just add a touch more orange juice to help it along.

And there’s one breakfast (or lunch, or snack) that happens a lot at our house. Just make a few batches of each and save them for later – you can even freeze them so that you don’t have to spend as much time in the kitchen.

What’s your favorite go-to breakfast?