I don’t make muffins often enough. I see friends with kids who make them all the time, and I can see why; muffins are great, easy snack options, they freeze well and can be made extremely healthy by using nutrient-dense real food ingredients including hidden veggies, nuts, fruit, herbs and spices.

I actually made this batch of savoury muffins for a group morning tea at work. First and foremost I made them because who doesn’t love cheesy savoury muffins? But secondly, one of my colleagues is Hereditary Fructose Intolerance which means their liver has no way of processing fructose if it is consumed. For them it means that even the smallest amount of Fructose (sugar found in fruits and in the disaccharide, sucrose) is a poison for them. To find out more about Fructose read my Introduction to Carbohydrates. This means NO SWEET food whatsoever, even tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin, beetroots and things like that.

These muffins were definitely a hit, not only with that colleague, but with everyone! 😀 😀

Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy-free option

Serves ~18 Muffins
Time 45 min

Ingredients:

• 2 C Almond Meal
• 1/2 C tapioca flour
• 3 t baking powder
• 2 C grated zucchini
• 200g triple-smoked free-range, preservative-free ham
• 1/2 C smoked cheddar cheese, grated (omit for dairy free, or use dairy-free cheese)
• 2/3 C crumbled feta cheese (omit for dairy free, or use dairy-free cheese)
• 1/2 C kalamata olives (you can roughly chop them up if you like)
• 1/4 C chives, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs sage leaves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 C EVOO
• 1/4 C water
• Optional: sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, other herbs and spices.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degC.
2. Grease a muffin tray, or line with baking paper.
3. Place dry ingredients into a bowl and combine.
4. Add zucchini, ham, cheeses, olives, herbs, salt and pepper and roughly mix together.
5. Add eggs, EVOO and water to bring together into a batter.
6. Use a 1/3 or 1/2 Cup measure to portion out the batter between the muffin moulds in the tray.
7. Bake for about 30mins or until cooked through (test with a metal skewer).
8. Allow to cool before taking out of the muffin tray (the cheese melts and while the muffins are still warm, it makes them very soft to handle so best to wait until they cool).
9. Keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days before freezing any remaining savoury muffins.