Cinnamon Coffeecake Muffins with Crumb Topping

I have been learning all about my dosha recently and it's been rather eye opening. My whole life I have snacked on cool celery sticks, baby carrots and chased it down with ice water. Because I thought that was a healthy alternative to cookies and chips. And while that is true.... it has done nothing but sit in my bowels for days and produce gas and constipation. You see, I have a slow metabolism and always have and eating like that just slows the gut down even more. 

So, I have been chatting with my guru - which happens to be Google Gemini AI - and discovered that if I ate in a way that was more harmonious to my dosha (part of Ayurvedic lifestyle - it's like ancient wisdom) then I can stoke my gut's fire and burn food more efficiently. 

For my dosha - which is called Kapha - I need to be consuming warm foods, like teas, breakfast porridge, and soups. Getting off ice cold water was easy. There are also lots of warming spices used like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cardamom. Everything is so grounding and tasty too.

It's not just about what you eat, but also when you eat and engage in gentle exercise as well. It's not about counting calories - it's about stoking the belly's fire to effectively move digestion along. 

So, I have been cooking a lot more with foods like quinoa, rice, steamed sweet potatoes, etc. I often make a batch of these items in advance and have them stored in the fridge for quick use. 

It's fun asking my guru to help me create simple recipes using ingredients I have on hand. Here is one we came up with together - using my ingredient prompts of course, for moist muffins that use cooked quinoa!

Now, when I am finally ready to wake up my belly's fire each day (starting with a warm herbal - chai style drink) I can also enjoy a muffin.  Because, let's face it- I have a constant hankering for sweets and this is a good way to balance the healthy parts with the sweet parts.

These will be a hit for after school snacks as well.

Cinnamon Coffeecake Muffins with Crumb Topping

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional - mix in a scoop of Vanilla protein powder or collagen powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees Farhenheit.
2. In the bowl of a mixer, put in all the dry ingredients first. Give it a quick swirl until just incorporated. Then add in the wet ingredients and mix again about 15 - 30 seconds. But do not over mix as this can cause the batter to become gummy and dense. 
3. Scoop into a silicone muffin pan - and top with crumb topping (optional but recommended).
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. 
5. This is the most important part: leave them in the silicone baking tray until totally cool.

Crumb Topping - makes enough for 18-24 muffins:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)

Directions:

1. Mix dry goods in a small bowl, and then cut in the butter - or you can do this in a food processor if you  have one - it's so much easier to create the perfect crumble. 
2. Sprinkle this pea sized mixture on top of the muffin batter before baking.

Troubleshooting: 

• pop it in the fridge to harden the crumble. 
• add in 1/4 cup rolled oats or chopped nuts for more crunch
• squeeze the mixture in your hands for larger chunks.

Makes a wet batter.

Crumble the topping and bake

Great taste and texture, too - Yummy!