Anti-Inflammatory Coconut and Sweet Potato Muffins with Ginger, Cinnamon and Maple Syrup

Baked goods sure (such as sweet potato muffins) are sweet, but have you ever taken a look at all the ingredients that go into making your favorite treats?

Cookies and cakes may be full of inflammatory foods like sugar, wheat, and vegetable oil, even “healthier” options like muffins

But they don’t have to be.

Here are a few ingredients to add to your next batch of muffins to turn them into inflammation-fighting snacks.

Sweet Potato has the starchy goodness of a regular potato, but with a few added bonuses: It’s packed with nutrients like beta-carotene, an antioxidant that fights oxidative stress, cancer, and inflammation.

It also packs a punch of choline, a mineral that helps maintain cellular membranes, enables nerve impulses, facilitates fat absorption and fights inflammation. And that’s just the beginning…

Coconut Milk contains healthy medium-chain fatty acids that improve metabolism and support weight loss. Coconut milk is full of important nutrients like vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B5 and B6 and minerals including iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous.

On the other hand, coconut flour supplies high-quality carbs and gut-healthy fiber. Natural sweet (but not overwhelmingly so) coconut flour is perfectly suitable for diabetics to use. It even helps lower cholesterol.

Olive Oil positively impacts blood sugar and cholesterol levels after a meal. Oleocanthal, a phenolic compound found in olive oil, also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Ginger fights inflammatory diseases like arthritis and it fights bacteria and tumors. It’s main phytochemical, gingerol, prevents the formation of arterial plaque.

Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Muffins

Ingredients:

1 small organic sweet potato, roasted (1 cup, packed)
3 organic free-range eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup of organic canned coconut milk
2 tbsp of organic olive oil
½ cup of pure organic maple syrup
1 cup of organic brown rice flour
¼ cup of organic coconut flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 tbsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of ground ginger
⅛ tsp of ground cloves
⅛ tsp of ground nutmeg

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Use a wooden skewer to make 10-20 holes in your sweet potato and cook it on a baking tray for an hour to soften it.
Remove the potato and let it cool.
Oil your muffin tray with coconut oil.
Cut the potato in half and scoop out the good stuff into a large bowl, discarding the skin (or eating it as a snack while your muffin cook).
Add the olive oil, almond milk and syrup to the bowl and combine until smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
Pour the dry ingredients into the sweet potato and mix until well combined.
Pour the batter evenly throughout the muffin tray until each section is 2/3 full.
Place the tray on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes.
Let it cool and enjoy a delicious batch of sweet potato muffins! Feel free to freeze any extras for future use.