Cinnamon Apple Streusel Muffins

Cinnamon Apple Streusel Muffins - Bursting with fall flavors, these moist gluten-free muffins are filled with apples and cinnamon and topped with a delicious crunchy streusel. You won’t believe they are naturally lower in sugar, dairy-free, and healthy for you! 

Like most of the recipes I develop, they are inspired by my morning dreams. Well, the dreams I have upon waking up and hitting the snooze button! Mainly because I am starving by the time I wake up but that’s another story! 

The story behind these bad boys was that I wanted to create a lazy version of apple pie. Afterall, apple pie should only be eaten if it’s homemade and preferably made from a grandmother. But if you are strapped for time and there’s not a grandma in sight, well, sometimes you just have to think outside the box. 

And that’s just what I did. These apple cinnamon streusel muffins are basically apple pies but a muffin version. Some of my taste testers actually preferred mini apple pie muffins as the name because they taste just like that! 

What I also didn’t tell them is that these muffins are naturally lower in sugar and oil, gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo friendly, keto friendly, and use clean, real ingredients. After telling them what the ingredients were, they truly couldn’t believe it wasn’t an old fashioned muffin that you would get at a bakery! 

So if you are wanting to trick your family and friends into eating healthy things, then try this! Haha. Not only is it fun to make a traditional baked good healthy, but these muffins are actually fun to make in general. 

As illustrated in the picture, pour batter about halfway in the muffin liner followed by the “apple pie filling”, another layer of batter and top with the streusel mixture! If you are wanting to really elevate the dish and don’t mind the added sugar, then I created a maple cinnamon glaze to drizzle just before serving. These muffins are practically my new favorite! 

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with! 

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Cinnamon Apple Streusel Muffins - Bursting with fall flavors, these moist gluten-free muffins are filled with apples and cinnamon and topped with a delicious crunchy streusel. You won’t believe they are naturally lower in sugar, dairy-free, and healthy for you!

Ingredients

• ¼ cup + 3 Tbsp cassava flour

• ¼ cup GF oat flour

• ¼ tsp baking powder

• Pinch salt

• ⅓ cup dairy free yogurt

• 3 large eggs

• 3 Tbsp avocado oil

• 2 Tbsp honey

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Filling

• 1 honeycrisp apple (chopped)

• 1 Tbsp organic light brown sugar (optional)

• 2 tsp grass fed butter

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• Pinch of salt

Streusel

• ¼ cup GF all purpose flour or paleo/cassava flour

• 2 Tbsp gluten free oats

• 1 Tbsp coconut sugar or light brown sugar

• 1 Tbsp softened ghee or coconut oil/grass fed butter

• 1 Tbsp sliced almonds 

• ¼ tsp cinnamon

Drizzle

• ¼ cup organic powdered sugar

• 2 tsp pure maple syrup

• ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1-2 tsp unsweetened almond milk (optional)

• Dash of cinnamon

Yields 6 muffins

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 6-cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease with avocado oil spray. Set aside. 

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and honey until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then add the oil, yogurt, vanilla and mix until combined. 

4. Add the liquid mixture into the flour mixture until combined. The batter should be pourable but not too runny. If it’s a little runny, add more cassava flour. Set aside.

5. In a small skillet, melt butter on medium heat. When the butter is starting to bubble, add chopped apples and sauté until apple pieces are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and dash of salt and mix until fully combined and the sugar has fully melted over the apple pieces. Turn off heat immediately and set aside. 

6. For the cinnamon streusel topping: mash together the softened ghee and sugar until combined. stir in the flour, oats, almonds, and cinnamon, then use your fingers to form thick crumbs. Set aside.

7. Use a cookie scooper or ¼ measuring cup to divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Pour batter about halfway, top with about 1 Tbsp of the apple cinnamon mixture, another scoop of the batter until ¾ to the top full and then finish with the streusel mix. 

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until the muffin tops are golden and the toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin before transferring to a cooling rack. 

9. While the muffins are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon. If drizzle is too thick, slowly add 1 tsp of milk to the mixture.

10.  Drizzle glaze over the warm muffins and enjoy! 

Notes 

• If you are wanting to make this recipe lower in sugar, I put (optional) in the filling section. For example, if you are using a sweeter apple like a honeycrisp, then the brown sugar isn’t imperative. Also, you can completely omit the drizzle part and the muffins will still be deliciously sweet!

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce is a creamy dairy-free, gluten-free healthier version as compared with the original recipe. 

If you are looking for a dairy-free version of the traditional alfredo sauce then look no further! Made with whole food ingredients that most will have on hand. All you need is a strong blender that will create this creamy velvety sauce texture, that’s it! 

I love mixing my sauce with pasta noodles, chicken, veggies, or use as pizza sauce! 

If you are looking for a more cheesier vegan or dairy-free sauce, check out my favorite spicy vegan cheese sauce recipe.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with! 

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Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce is a creamy dairy-free, gluten-free healthier version as compared with the original recipe. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups (packed) boiled cauliflower

• ½ cup plant based milk

• ½ cup chicken or veggie stock

• ½ cup cashews (soaked and drained)

• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

• 4 cloves minced garlic

• ½ white onion

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tsp grass fed or vegan butter

• 1 tsp salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for about 8-15 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender. Reserve 1 cup of boiling water. 

2. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Sauté minced garlic and diced onions until soft and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper. 

3. Drain the cauliflower and transfer to a blender. Add the sautéed garlic and onions, milk, stock, cashews, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. If the sauce looks too thick or dry, slowly add the reserved boiling water. Season with more salt and pepper for desired taste. 

4. Serve with cooked pasta and enjoy! 

Notes

• Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Will last 4-5 days in the fridge. 

• Freezer friendly! Since there is no dairy in the mixture, you can freeze the alfredo sauce once it’s cooled down. 

• Use the sauce with pasta, chicken, vegetables, or even as a pizza sauce!

Red Curry Sauce

Red Curry Sauce - A tried and true healthier version of the traditional red curry sauce. Less than 10-ingredients, gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, and paleo-friendly.

Y'all. This sauce is what dreams are made of! As an obsessive curry lover, I’m always on the prowl for a good curry recipe; whether it be from a restaurant or from a blog. Well, low behold, I found the perfect red curry sauce at this local Asian restaurant that used to be but only a block away from me! Needless to say, curry ran through my veins in those four years of living in that area!

So now that I am many...many blocks away from that restaurant, it was only a matter of time that I started to recreate the sauce. Long story short, we have arrived! 

Luckily for you, this is a much healthier version but tastes just as creamy, full-bodied curry sauce that you ever laid your taste buds on! For this recipe, I used many condiments that I already had in my pantry, as I am sure you have them in yours as well. 

And don’t fret if you don’t have them, I listed all the products I used for this sauce in the recipe notes below.

One condiment that transforms this umami flavor bomb sauce is using miso paste. Now, I understand that soybeans are not considered “paleo”, but most paleo eaters will choose to add this into their dishes because of the way it’s prepared. 

Miso is the product of fermented soybeans, water, fermented grains (called koji), and salt. Koji, the final product of fermented rice, barley, or soy, requires the use of a fungus called Aspergillus oryzae, which activates the fermentation process. Asian cooking often requires a number of fermented products like miso, which are all fermented with koji. So that umami flavor you get when eating at an Asian restaurant will most likely have miso in it! If you would like more health facts on miso paste from a paleo perspective, here’s the link.  

One thing I will note is that I created this recipe for a sponsored post for Vital Proteins. I used them for two reasons. One is that it’s a fun and creative way to incorporate collagen peptides into your meals and two, it is used as a thickening agent. 

If you don’t mind having a more liquid sauce then it’s fine without using collagen peptides. But if you are a pro in the kitchen, feel free to experiment using other thickening agents like flour or arrowroot starch. I will report back if this work but for now, collagen powder is the way to go!

Feel free to use this sauce on just about anything and everything! Next week, I will be posting a chicken curry nacho recipe but in the meantime, here are some ways you can use red curry sauce: on eggs, chicken, rice, veggies, dipping sauce, condiment, pasta, marinade/sauce for a protein source, or just straight out of the bowl - possibilities are endless!

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If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with! 

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Red Curry Sauce - A tried and true healthier version of the traditional red curry sauce. Less than 10-ingredients, gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, and paleo-friendly.

Ingredients

• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk 

• 2 Tbsp red curry paste

• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

• 2 Tbsp curry powder

• 2 scoops collagen peptides (optional but helps to thicken sauce)

• 2 tsp (heaping) organic white miso paste

• 1 Tbsp liquid aminos

• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

• 1 tsp pure maple syrup

• Juice of ½ lime

Directions

1. Prepare the curry sauce by adding all ingredients into a blender or nutribullet and blend until the mixture is in a sauce form. *If you do not have a blender, you can sub fresh ginger for ginger powder so that the sauce is smooth and consistent in texture. 

2. At this point, taste the sauce and see if it needs more umami (miso paste/liquid aminos), cheesy (nutritional yeast), bitter (lime juice), spice (curry paste/powder), or salt.

3. Pour sauce into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat. Stir sauce until the sauce is about to boil and turn the heat off. Make sure you are constantly stirring so as to not burn the sauce. 

4. As the sauce cools down, it will thicken. Collagen helps to thicken the sauce so if you are adding more collagen, make sure the sauce is hot enough for the collagen to blend well so that you don’t get clumps! 

5. If you are making a meal like chicken curry with rice and vegetables, heat the sauce into the cooking veggies if using a skillet to do this. If not, serve over anything and everything!

6. Store in an airtight container for at least two weeks in the refrigerator. 

Notes: 

Products that were used in the curry sauce: coconut milk, curry paste, collagen peptides, nutritional yeast, white miso paste, curry powder, maple syrup, liquid aminos.