Our garden is over flowing with strawberries right now. I needed to find a recipe to utilize 3 cups of strawberries and something that was great to take with me for a quick snack for the 2 births I have coming up. Being pregnant as a Doula at births is no joke and getting hungry or worn down isn't an option. I knew I needed to make something that was sweet but not too carb heavy and wouldn't spike insulin, leaving me more hungry. Muffins are always great for births. You can eat them quickly, they don't need to be warmed up, they don't smell offensive to moms AND bonus if your mom wants to snack on one while in labor! You know she is getting home made, nutrient dense yumminess! 

Paleo recipes are my go to for baking. They are always lower carb, using coconut or almond flour which has more protein and fiber, keeping you more full! They usually also call for a lot of eggs which helps add to their filling nature with protein and keeps your blood sugar level. 

I found a chia seed recipe last year and saved it. So simple. I knew at least that part would turn out ok. I found a basic paleo muffin recipe and thought lets swirl these and pray they turn out ok! Sure enough they did. I had a cup of chia jam left over and canned it for later!

Here is the Strawberry Chia Seed Jam Recipe:

Ingredients:
-3 cups of strawberries
-2 TBSP Chia seeds- if you want thick jam go for 3
-1 TBSP lemon juice
-1.5 TBSP maple syrup

Directions:
1. Pulse the washed and trimmed strawberries in a food processor.
2. Add in chia seeds, lemon and maple syrup and hand stir.
3. Set aside for muffins, you can store the leftovers after!


Feel free to make more and store it for later! Last year I had double this!

​Chia seeds are a super food. They are protein and fiber so they sure do keep you full. I know this jam will go in yogurt, on all the GF bread with almond butter, pancakes  and will top off these muffins while they last!

Now for the muffins!

Paleo Muffin Recipe:

Ingredients:
-1/2 C coconut flour
-1/4 C tapioca flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-4 eggs
-1/3 c coconut oil melted or grass-fed butter 
-1/4 C maple syrup
-2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 and line muffin tin with parchment paper cups
2. In a mixer combine coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl beat eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
4. In mixer combine the wet mix to the dry. IF the batter seems to dry/thick you can add in 1-2 TBSP milk/milk alternative. I added it for mine. 
5. Now this was a bit of trial and error. Fill the cups in this order. 1 TBSP batter (covered the bottom) then 1 TBSP chia jam, THEN another TBSP batter. This should fill the cup a little more then half way. I used a fork to swirl the jam and top batter layer a bit. Some of them I added a bit more batter on the top and think that turned out a bit thicker, which I liked. 
6. Bake muffins for 18 min. OR until a tooth pick in the center comes out clean. I think I went more like 20 minutes.
7. ALLOW them to cool for about 10 minutes. 

Of course they are best same day but are actually really good the next day cold with some chunky almond butter and a bit more chia jam! The next day I got ANOTHER 3 cups of strawberries from the garden and will be planning another baking session soon.
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On my vacation I gave myself very little restriction for a few things. One YOLO, I'm on a once and a lifetime vacation so I'm gunna eat! Two,  I am pregnant and on this trip I was in my first trimester. Eating whatever sounded ok was the main goal. With nausea and constant hunger with no real appetite, I ate what didn't sound terrible most of the time. Three, we walked 5 -10 miles a day so I wasn't too concerned.  Four, moderation. Yes I ate what sounded good but we shared a lot of good food but I with no restrictions I didn't feel the urge to binge eat like I would have in the past. Last but not least, FOOD QUALITY! Europe doesn't fortify their grains with folic acid like in the states so for my MTHFR gene mutation I was not at risk eating grains like I would be here. Also we were in small towns so everything was made locally and very fresh. It really makes the food situation here look REAL bad. ​