This and most of my recipes for baked goods were born in the days when I had babies that relied on me for nourishment. I  adopted a gluten-free lifestyle before having children. Then I had two babies with very sensitive tummies, so there were a lot of things I couldn't eat. My son couldn't tolerate dairy or egg and was also bothered by rice in my diet, oddly enough. My daughter was sensitive to dairy, corn and nuts in my diet. It essentially meant that while nursing, I had to eat baked goods that were gluten-free and vegan. If you have ever tried to bake gluten-free and vegan, you know how difficult it is! The gluten and egg gives traditional baked goods their structure and elasticity. Removing both of them makes baking a whole different ball game!

Thankfully, I found a few bloggers that had already figured out some tricks and shared their recipes. The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen was one of them. Alissa's recipes gave me hope that I could still satisfy my craving for taste!

Once I started experimenting with Alissa's recipes, there was no turning back. I came up with so many recipes for baked goods that were gluten-free and vegan that it just became a way of life. These zucchini muffins are gluten-free and grain-free, and since they are also dairy-free and egg-free they are vegan. They are also Paleo!

Did you know that a lot of muffin recipes call for a whole cup of sugar? That comes out to about 17 grams of sugar per muffin, not including any of the other ingredients! Store-bought muffins are often worse. Calorie King says Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip muffins have 34 grams of sugar per muffin. That's 7 teaspoons of sugar per muffin! I minimized the sugar as much as possible in these zucchini muffins. Using honey or agave syrup for part of it helps to minimize the amount used because honey and agave syrup are so sweet that a little goes a long way. However, I kept some brown sugar in this recipe (I use coconut sugar or sucanat unrefined cane sugar) because it really gives these muffins a great flavor. Even though there is still some sugar, these zucchini muffins only have about 11 grams or just over 2 teaspoons of sugar per muffin. I also use ground cashews or almond flour to add nutrients and lower the glycemic load.

Less sugar makes these zucchini muffins healthier than most muffins, but that's not all. These muffins are also made with nutritious ingredients! The ground cashews or almond flour adds healthy fats and far less carbs than regular gluten-free flours, and the shredded zucchini doesn't just satisfy one of your daily vegetable requirements, it's low in calories and contains a surprising amount of nutrients! Zucchini is recognized for being a great source of minerals. It also provides vitamin C, vitamin K and B vitamins (source).

The end result is zucchini muffins that are healthy, Paleo and vegan, yet still have the perfect flavor and texture.

I use a standing grater to shred the zucchini and a Ninja Master Prep to grind the cashews. I love my Ninja Master Prep! It comes with a blender and food processor with one motor that powers both. I have used the food processor to grind nuts and seeds for my recipes for the past 4 years and it has done a fantastic job! The best part is that it costs less than $50, includes both the food processor and blender and has several thousand ratings boasting that it stands up to the Vitamix. Pretty awesome considering that it's 1/10th the price!

Looking to keep these muffins vegan? No problem, just use agave syrup instead of honey.

With minimal sugar and lots of nuts and zucchini in each muffin, you can feel great about eating these!