Packed with fruit and nuts these sugar and wheat free muffins will provide a good nutritional start to any day.

New year, new me… and yes, I am still on my journey to a healthier eating me. The main goal is to try and eliminate sugar, especially refined ones. These muffins do not contain any sugar or any sugar substitutes, they are simply sweetened by the dry fruits included in them, so all natural and much friendlier for our body. Despite not having a need for a wheat free diet I’ve decided to use a spelt flour to up the nutty flavour… the results are truly yummy!

Ingredients:

• 100g dates; chopped
• 75g raisins
• 50g prunes; chopped
• 50g pecans; chopped
• 250ml coconut milk
• 140g spelt flour
• 2 eggs; beaten
• 2tbsp coconut oil; rounded
• 1 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4tsp salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C fan and prepare a 12 muffin tin by lining it with paper muffin cases or silicon ones.

In a medium size cooking pot place the dates, prunes and raisins (Whitworths dry fruit selection is perfect for baking), add coconut milk and bring it to a gentle simmer.

Cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes or until all milk has incorporated into the fruit.

Put aside and allow it to cool for a few minutes.

In a meantime, sift your flour and mix with bicarbonate of soda.

Beat the eggs.

Now back to our fruit…

Add two heaped table spoons of good quality raw virgin coconut oil and stir until melted and mixed in.

Add salt and vanilla essence and stir well.

Finally fold in the flour and bicarbonate of soda mixture, add the eggs and nuts and stir until fully combined but do not over mix it.

Use a table spoon and scoop one heaped tablespoon of mixture into each muffin casing.

Pop into earlier preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes at 180C fan.

When the time is up, remove from the oven, remove from baking tray and place on wire rack and allow them to cool completely.

Enjoy!