Chickpea Muffins

This muffin recipe will allow you to make high-protein, gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free muffins.

To begin, preheat your oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, combine together the following dry ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups chickpea flour (a.k.a. garbanzo bean flour, gram flour or besan)

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

- a pinch of salt

- 6 tablespoons lucuma powder

Side note:

At this moment, you're probably wondering, 'what the heck is lucuma powder?'. Lucuma is a fruit native to Peru. In Canada, one can by lucuma in powdered form. It is relatively expensive, compared to refined white sugar. This one-pound package cost me $18.79 at a health food store. (No one said healthy alternatives were cheap. If it's worth anything, the package below will last me for approximately 1 year.)

The fruit powder is sweet and can be used as a sugar substitute. It is low on the glycemic index, which makes it suitable for individuals with diabetes. Additionally, it has a mild maple/butterscotch flavour.

To the dry ingredients, add the following wet ingredients and mix thoroughly:

- 2 ripe bananas (mashed)

- 2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter

- 2 teaspoons honey

- 1 container crushed apples (100 mL)

- 2 large eggs

- 1/4 cup water

At this point, add 3/4-1 cup of carob chips or chocolate chips. I used unsweetened carob chips.

Using a spoon, fill muffin papers with the chickpea batter, so that they are almost full.

Bake the muffins for 20 minutes and enjoy.