MUUUFFIIIIINNNNNSSSS!! (anyone remember that crazy youtube video from a few years ago? fire muffins!) Cranberry Olive Oil Muffins, to be exact. Fancied up with a little orange zest, because I thought cranberries and orange together is A) delicious and B) super festive around the holidays!
If you think olive oil sounds a little weird in baked goods, well I did too at first! Until I tried an olive oil chocolate tarte and was sooooold forever. Never tried one? Go for it! I’ll work on a recipe for you guys, but not now…to be honest, I’m all sweeted out from so much treat testing this holiday season. Bring on the savory foods! After these muffins, of course.
So what’s the deal with collagen, and why is it in these muffins? WELL let me tell you, my friend. I’ve been using Collagen and Gelatin for about the past year to help with leaky gut, but they also support the health of your skin, nails, joints, bones, and cartilage! Collagen is great for athletes too, or those who are training a lot – whether you’re pounding the pavement running, or lifting heavy weights in the gym. Collagen helps your body to produce more creatine, an amino acid (building block of protein) that helps boost energy, repair and rebuild muscle after exercise. And for those weary joints? Collagen is most highly concentrated in the body where the joints meet, and in the body’s connective tissue. This makes collagen especially important if you’re prone to or recovering from injury, so you can have a little extra cushion in those joints to help prevent and heal from injuries (or overuse – I’m looking at you, exercise fiends like me!).
What’s really cool is you won’t even notice the taste at all, whether you’re adding collagen to a smoothie, green juice, chia pudding, or a baked good, like these muffins – but you’ll still get all those gut-healing, skin/hair/nails/joints-protective benefits!
- 2 cups homemade cashew flour (directions here)
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2 scoops Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- zest from 1 small orange
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp coconut cream or dairy-free yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup cranberries, washed
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a muffin pan with 10 silicone baking cups (or grease 10 cups with little extra olive oil). You could also use paper baking cups.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl: the cashew flour, coconut flour, collagen, coconut sugar, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Use a fork to distribute the ingredients evenly.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, orange zest, yogurt or coconut cream and vanilla.
- Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon until well combined, then add the cranberries and stir them in.
- Divide the batter among the 10 baking cups - I used a ¼ cup measure to do this. The batter should almost reach the top of each well.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 (but don’t remove the muffins from the oven) and bake for an additional 18-20 minutes, until the muffins are lightly golden brown on top and cooked through in the middle.
- Allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack before serving.
This post is sponsored by my friends at Vital Proteins!
Looking for more recipes with collagen or gelatin? Try these out!
Apple Chaider with Homemade Gingerbread Marshmallows
Maple-Spiced Paleo Panna Cotta
