Tropical Muffins

These tasty muffins pack the power of coconut...times two...coconut oil and shredded coconut!

Muffins:

• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup regular oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (or your favorite sweetener)
  
• 2 Tbl coconut oil, melted
  
• 1 tsp vanila extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple in natural juice, drained well
  
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 3 Tbl macadamia nuts, finely chopped
  

Topping:

• 2 Tbl shredded coconut (unsweetened)
  
• 1 Tbl macadamia nuts, finely chopped
• 1 Tbl turbinado sugar
• 1 Tbl regular oats

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. For muffins, in a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine banana, buttermilk, brown sugar, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Stir in pineapple, coconut, and macadamia nuts. Spoon mixture into 12 muffin cups.
3. For topping, in a small bowl combine coconut, macadamia nuts, turbinado sugar, and oats.
4. Sprinkle topping over each muffin. Bake at 400 degrees or until muffins spring back when touched lightly. Remove from pan to cool.

Top with a bit of grass-fed butter...mmm...mmm...mmm...perfect!


Notes: A couple things that you may not keep on hand, buttermilk and ripe bananas, can readily be available. Whenever your bananas get too ripe to eat by themselves, toss them in the freezer until you're ready to use them for baking. Also, a substitute for buttermilk is 1 cup milk mixed with 1 teaspoon vinegar.

For information about the health benefits of coconut, check out these articles:

• A New Look at Coconut Oil
• The Latest Studies on Coconut Oil
• More Good News on Coconut Oil
• Know Your Fats

The Weston A. Price Foundation is exploding with information about this nutrient-rich fat.

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