Healthy Orange Pistachio Muffins – Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free

More than just a normal muffins, these green babies are made with pistachio nuts – one of the oldest, healthiest, but also most expensive nuts out there – and thus for sheer special occasions. But well, every day can be one that’s worth celebrating, right ;-).  To make them completely fall-proof (by which I mean “autumn-food”), we layer on each bite a warm citrusy tanginess of orange.  And for those who’s planning on making Halloween treats the coming week, why not turning these into some muffin smileys by piping on top a layer of coconut frosting* (see note) , 2 chocolate chips as eyes, and one orange strip as the mouth

According to Orgnifacts  Pistachios are one of the few nuts that contain a complete macro-nutrient profile (Carb-Protein-Healthy fats) next to abundant dietary fibres, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. It is especially rich of copper content which jacks up our bodies’ ability to absorb iron and rare vitamins as .  With that said, I’m not saying here that eating 4-5 of these muffins/day or cracking down a whole kilo of roasted pistachios will give us these benefits. But a regular, mindful and moderate inclusion of such nuts in our diets will enrich our overall nutritional goals. Therefore, I choose to make them in mini-muffin format and eat 1-2/day in my coffee break and as pre-workout snack.

What we need:

If you’re short on time, let the blender or food processor do all the work 😉 while you heat the oven. While they’re baking, for about 35-40mins, you can even sneak in a home workout 😉 or go take shower.

Garnish with pistachio and orange toppings, or any other fancy, crazy, or scary one you might think of.

I’d perhaps choose to dig right in 😀

Let me know on Instagram if you try the recipe (#food2fit) or if you have any questions on the recipe.

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Healthy Orange Pistachio Muffins (VG, GF, DF)

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Resting

10 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

This recipe is adapted from one of my favourite Youtubers – Beth’s Le Manach and her Pistachio Olive Cake. I’ve made a few healthy tweaks on it, making egg-, dairy-free and vegan, next to turning a cake into a crowd-pleasing muffin format

Course: Dessert

Keyword: healthy cakes, healthy desserts, muffins, vegan desserts

Servings: 12 mini muffins

Calories: 130 kcal

Author: H.P.

Ingredients

To make 12-14 mini’s OR 6-8 jumbo muffins

Dry ingredients

• 100 gr pistachio flour grounded from whole nuts
• 100 gr almond flour OR oat flour OR any other wholegrain flour that you have at home
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 25 gr unsweetened raisins
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp orange zest + some julienned strips for garnishing
• Some crushed roasted pistach for toppings of course!

Wet ingredients

• 2 medium banana
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil 15-18ml extra verge AND extra for lining muffin tins
• 2 eggs OR flax-egg if vegan 1tbsp ~ 12gr flaxmeal + 4 tbsp water or milk of choice
• 150 ml freshly-squeezed orange juice
• Optional if you, your kids, or guests are used to the level of sweetness in stored bought pastries, you might need to add 20-30ml of nectar agave OR maple syrup into the mixture. For me, the banana and orange juice are just perfect!

Instructions

1. In a blender or food processor, put in all the wet ingredients
2. For the vegan edition, replace 2 eggs with flaxmeal mixture
3. Pulse a 3-4 times of 2seconds each until reaching smooth liquid texture. I would avoid over pulse here. You can also do this in a bowl instead and just mash the banana and beat the eggs with a whisk and spatula.
4. Mix all dry ingredients and pour into the liquid base, one half at a time
5. Pulse (Mix) until everything is well incorporated
6. Let rest for about 5-10 min while preheating oven to to 175C
7. Line the muffin tins or paper cups with olive oil
8. Divide batter into 12-14 mini portions OR 6-8 normal-sized muffin
9. Bake for 35-40mins

Garnish with orange strips, crushed pistachio OR the coconut cream as mentioned above.

Recipe Notes

• Calories: 130Cal / 544Kj ; Fat 5.4gr; Sodium 26mg; Potassium 124mg ; Carb 3.5gr; Protein 3.5gr; Fiber 2gr ; Sugar 3.8gr ; Vit C 9.7% DV