Low Carb Raspberry Muffins

Like everyone else this time of year, we’ve trying to loose a few pounds from all of that holiday fun.  I’ve been reading Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes as Ed has been suggesting to  me for years.  So we’re trying a low carb approach – lots of lean meat, big salads – good for me, but kind of boring.  I thought I’d try this recipe, but I generally avoid artificial sweeteners, so I reduced the amount of sweetener and did a taste test comparing Stevia to sugar.  Making half a batch with sugar, the other half with Stevia.

I tried both kinds after letting them cool for about 5 minutes.  For a baked good without wheat flour, they were surprising good, but I do love almonds.  I was pleased with the taste of both.  I found the muffin with sugar to have a slightly better, firmer texture.  It may have been a fluke; we’ll see as we work our way through them.  I only had half a muffin of each kind because they are not low cal; they are not low fat; and if I ate as many as I would like to, I could no longer call them low carb. I’ve put all of my variations in the recipe analyzer on CalorieCount.com.  You’ll find the basic info at the bottom of this post.

I haven’t tried it yet, but a savory version is coming to mind.  My next plan is to omit the sugar or sweetener and the raspberries.  In their place, I will add 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.  I’ll let you know how they turn out.

Adapted from: About.com

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour/almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons sugar (4 packets Stevia)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
1 cup raspberries

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Grease or spray muffin pan (12 muffin cups)
• Combine almond flour, baking powder, salt, sugar (or sweetener)
• Add melted butter, eggs, water until very well blended
• Fold in raspberries
• Spoon into prepared pans, bake for about 20 minutes

Yield: 12 muffins

PS – I hesitate to call these gluten free because I’m not sure about the baking powder.  That seems to be the only questionable ingredient.

Per Muffin:
Sugar version: 191 calories, 17g fat, 6.6g carb, 2.6g fiber, 5.4g protein
Stevia version: 186 calories, 17g fat, 5.2g carb, 2.6g fiber, 5.4g protein
Savory version: 208 calories, 18.7 fat, 4.2g carb, 1.9g fiber, 7.7g protein