Being Gluten Free

Gluten is a protein naturally found in certain grains such as wheat, barley, rye

and some oats. Foods that are made with these grains also contain gluten -

that includes foods like  breads, cakes, cereals, cookies, crackers, pasta,

pizza, and  lots more.

 About three million Americans suffer from a serious medical condition called

celiac disease. For someone with this disease, eating gluten-containing foods

causes damage to the lining of the small intestine (where foods go after they

have been eaten and digested). This damage makes it very difficult for the

body to absorb nutrients from foods. Over time this damage can lead to

malnourishment and possibly other complications.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/sitecore/shell/controls/rich%20text%20editor/~/media/Files/PDF/GlutenFree_Consumer_Fact_Sheet.ashx

Gluten-free Almond Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Gluten-free flour blend (or your favorite GF blend)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs Almond Meal/flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Sugar (you can replace half the sugar with Erythritol or Splenda)
• 1 1/2 cups smashed RIPE bananas (approx 3 medium)
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I use 2% Greek yogurt, but any will do)
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 6 Tbs butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 tsp Almond extract
• 1/2 to 1 cup  SVO blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12+ muffin tins with paper liners.

1. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine smashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, melted butter, and almond extract.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix gently to just combine.
4. At this point, you can gently fold in the blueberries, or, you can see what I do in step 6
5. Fill muffin tins pretty full (an ice cream scoop is great for this). If you have too much batter for 12 muffin tins, break out another tin and make a couple more.
6. If you didn't fold your blueberries into the batter in step 4, poke 4 or 5 blueberries into the batter of each muffin with a knife. Is that weird? I do it because this way the muffins don't sink to the bottom or break down from the folding and give me messy blue-colored muffins (although you might like them that way!). This gives me a muffin with whole blueberries throughout.
7. Bake for approximately 20 - 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
8. Remove muffins from tins to cooling rack.
      You can find this recipe at
   http://bakecookeatmove.blogspot.com/2012/01/almond-banana-blueberry-muffins-gluten.html