Have you ever combined beets and strawberries in the same recipe? This might surprise you, but they are meant to be together – a match made in joyous heaven!
Why? The strawberries soften the strong “earthiness” of the beets and lend a lovely natural sweetness to this recipe. Surprisingly, the strong taste of the beets does not overshadow the strawberries. This recipe made me giddy with excitement to share with you because the muffins are SO GOOD.
As you can see in the photos, the batter was so vibrant and rich thanks to all those phytonutrients (more on that in a bit). These muffins were a food stylists dream to shoot because the gorgeous colour looked great with any set of dishes. Walker and I had so much fun shooting them, as evidenced by the ridiculous amount of shots we got (we could only post a few here)!!
As for the taste, I knew they were be going incredible when I dipped my finger in the batter to taste test it and I was like “wowza.” When I pulled them out of the oven, my test-tasting-buds were correct. They were AMAZING – moist, flavourful and the beet/strawberry combo was perfection.
You’ll be happy to know these muffins are gluten-free and digestion-friendly because I used Genuine Health’s Fermented Greek Yogurt Proteins+.
You can learn more about this protein by checking out this cool infographic. As for the benefit of fermented foods, you’ll already know them all if you’ve read my previous posts and watched this video, but here’s a little reminder.
(And yes, those are chocolate chips in the photo above. I made half the batch with chocolate chips and the other half without. I know I mentioned beets and strawberries are a wonderful flavour combo, but add chocolate and it’s next level good.)
Check out the highlights on beets and strawberries below after the recipe card!
*If you don't have this brand of protein powder, you can substitute another brand of protein powder. Just keep in mind this protein is sweetened naturally with monk fruit and stevia so you'll want to be sure the batter is sweet enough if you make a substitution. Alternatively, you can substitute 1/4 cup brown rice flour. I haven't tried the recipe with brown rice flour, but it should work.
**To make the pureed beets, cut 2 medium organic beets into chunks and roast for 45 minutes at 350F in a dish with a lid or until fork tender. Once cooled, puree in a food processor until smooth (see photo below).
Note: FYI — I’ve been getting questions asking me why my muffins are so red. No, I did not add any food colouring. I bought certified organic beets and roasted them with the SKIN-on and pureed them as you see below. My hubs does all my photography and he didn’t add any filters.
Nutritional Highlights of Beets
You can use the whole beet if it’s organic, but if you’re using conventionally grown beets, make sure you peel them first to get rid of extra pesticide residues.
Nutritional Highlights of Strawberries
Remember that strawberries are right at the top of the EWG’s 2016 Dirty Dozen list, so you’ll want to make extra sure to buy organic if at all possible! You can enjoy these as part of a healthy breakfast with this Sunshine Juice or as a mid-afternoon powersnack.
I hope you love them as much as Walker and I do.
Have a joyous rest of your week!
Joy
Hi Joy, These look delicious! Can you have the protein powder while pregnant?
ReplyHi Anita! It's important to make sure that your protein powder doesn't have any other ingredients like herbs etc. while pregnant. We're a big fan of Genuine Health's Fermented Vegan or Greek Yogurt Proteins, which are safe during pregnancy. Heather- Joyous Health team
These look yummy but we don't eat eggs - would Chia or flax eggs work when the recipe calls for 5 eggs?? Anything else you would suggest? Thanks
ReplyHi Krupa! Chia or Flax eggs could work but results can little tricky when there are more than 2-3 eggs in a recipe. We have an awesome egg replacement chart which you can get here: http://www.joyoushealth.com/egg-substitution-chart/ Perhaps try using a combination of a few of the different replacement options and et us know how it turns out! Heather- Joyous Health Team
Could you substitute Genuine Health greens+ kids for the protein powder or is it totally different? I'm making this for my kids and have the greens+ on hand.
ReplyThe texture might be a bit different. I would substitute another protein or use brown rice flour instead of protein for texture. Hope that helps!
These look delicious! Any chance you could provide the nutritional breakdown? As a Type 1 Diabetic, I am really careful about counting for everything. I count for all carbs, sugars (even natural) protein and fiber content. Thanks so much!
ReplyHi Dara! Thanks for reaching out :) Unfortunately, we don't have a nutritional breakdown for the recipe, but we absolutely understand the importance of having this information as a type 1 Diabetic. Since this is something you may encounter quite often, you may want to check out this website: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp which allows you to calculate the nutritional data. There are also some great Apps available for this as well. Recipe Builder is one that may be helpful for you. All the best! Heather- Joyous Health team
Is it possible to use beet pulp after juicing? We try to use all our pulp-no waste. But I wonder if that would affect the moisture content in this case?
ReplyHey Casey! I think that could work really well. If your juicer removes most of the moisture from the pulp, you may need to add a bit of water to back to it. Aim for the consistency of pureed beets and let us know how it turns out :) Heather- Joyous Health Team
Just made these- they are delicious!!!! And so pretty. used white rice flour instead of protein powder - it was no problem.
ReplyAwesome, Peggy! Thanks for sharing :) Heather- Joyous Health Team
Mine didn't come out half as red as yours Joy! Did you cheat with colouring ;-) Quite yummy and super nutritious though. Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyHa! No. I would never ever use food colouring! I blended my beets (as you can see in the photo to be pretty smooth). I added a touch of water to my Le creuset pot when I roasted them so they didn't dry out which ended up being blended with the beets. That could be why.
Hello, I love beets and am excited to make this recipe! I usually buy my beets already cooked (they come vacuum sealed). Would this work or do the beets have to be roasted? Thank you!
ReplyYes that will totally work! I hope you enjoy it Vanessa!
Hi there - I'm following Joy's advice (7 natural health solutions for acne) and am trying to be dairy-free. How will using the fermented Greek proteins+ impact that? Thanks in advance :-)
ReplyHi Kathryn! While most people have no issues with fermented dairy products, but for the sake of testing how your body/skin does without dairy, I would suggest using the Genuine Health's fermented vegan protein (dairy-free) instead and see if that makes a difference. All the best! Heather- Joyous Health Team
I made the recipe with vegan chocolate-flavoured protein powder and they turned out very tasty. I only used 4 eggs, since that's all I had on hand. The muffins turned out just a little crumbly, maybe due to the missing egg? This recipe is a definite do-again. Thanks!
ReplyHey Tara! Glad yo hear you liked them :) The crumbliness would absolutely be due to the missing egg. Coconut flour is very absorbent and needs that extra liquid to help them bind together. Let us know how it turns out round 2! Heather- Joyous Health team
Hi- I have been wanting to add more beets to my life for their health benefits but I haven't because I don't really like them just roasted. This recipe may change things. I had three questions: first will beets stain my food processor, second do you have any other recipes using that protein. And lastly, if I make these not in strawberry season, do you think frozen, thawed strawberries would work? Thank you!
ReplyHi Ruthie! You shouldn't have any issues with the beets staining your food processor and yes we do have other recipes on the blog that use this protein powder (it's our favourite). We use it in most of the smoothie recipes, other muffins and these awesome Protein Blondie Squares: http://www.joyoushealth.com/blog/2016/03/08/protein-blondie-squares/ As for the strawberries, you could try using thawed strawberries, just make sure to drain off the excess liquid really well as it may change the consistency. Good luck!
Dear Joy, Thanks for the beautiful muffin recipe. Can't wait to try it! I have one question. Are the probiotics naturally found in the fermented Greek yogurt protein still active after being baked in the muffins? Or will they be denatured/destroyed be the oven heat? If so will there still be any digestive tract benefits should the fermentation sourced friendly bacteria be killed? Thank you so much! With much appreciation, Irene
ReplyHi Irene! The probiotics may be denatured during baking but the other benefits of a fermented protein powder, such as increased digestibility and bioavailability of nutrients, will remain intact. I hope you enjoy the recipe :) Heather- Joyous Health Team
Hi there, so I just made those muffins, I use brown rice flour instead of the protein powder so I had 1/3 cup of maple syrup ( and for me it was too much) I ended up having only 1/3 cup of beets puree even with 3 beets so they are not as red as yours but really pretty! I also just put 4 eggs instead of 5 and they work great. Have a good day !
ReplyAwesome Mylene! Glad they worked out with the modifications you made!
I cannot have berries so could I add another fruit or maybe just go with beets?
ReplyHi Deb! You could totally just add additional beets or try another fruits (maybe banana?). Let us know how it turns out! Heather- Joyous Health Team
Hi Joy, Made the first batch with the Italian beets I had on hand. Tasted good but not the nice bright red colour. Making them again today with regular beets but wondering what you thought of substituting goat milk for the almond or coconut.
ReplyHi Anne! I think that would work just fine. Let us know how they turn out :) Heather- Joyous Health Team
My beet muffins are very "wet" when baked. Do I need to bake longer? I've gone as far as 45 minutes.
ReplyHi Emma! These muffins tend to be a bit more wet than regular muffins but shouldn't be "very wet". Perhaps try cooking them a bit longer :) Heather- Joyous Health Team
I attempted this recipe with the suggestion of using 1/4 c of brown rice flour instead and they came out super oily, could you suggest what I could try next time?
ReplyHi Claudia. Sorry to hear that substitution didn't work out! Perhaps try using an additional 2 Tbsp of coconut flour instead. We haven't tried it yet, but being that coconut flour is super absorbent, it could work. Let us know how it goes and good luck :) Heather- Joyous Health Team
I love that protein powder I bought it when I saw you speak in newmarketbut since my food sensitivity test, I can't have cow milk, pea , casein, wheat, flax a few nuts, etc. and egg,, can you suggest a substitute powder that I can have in a smoothie fermented would be a bonus and that I can make these muffins with ? do they taste beets? :). never been a huge beet fan but would like to try tnx. sue.
ReplyHi Sue!
Thanks for coming to my talk. You could use a hemp seed or brown rice protein powder but I don't know of any fermented protein powders that don't contain all those ingredients. And no, they don't taste overly "beety". :)
I really appreciate Joy’s muffin recipes. I’m looking forward to making my own popsicles. Thanks.
ReplyThanks Susan! Glad you're loving my muffin recipes :)
For those of you that are curious, I just made this recipe last night with brown rice flour subbed for the protein powder. To me, they’re a little egg-y (not sure how the original consistency is supposed to be), but I don’t mind it at all! I also HIGHLY recommend throwing in those mini chocolate chips. It really ties everything together with a perfect sweetness. 👌🏻
ReplyGood to know! Thanks for sharing Rebecca!
What chocolate chips do you use? Are they sugar free? Thanks!
ReplyFor the past couple of years, I've been using Lily's Sweets Chocolate Chips but I used to use Enjoy Life.
So you don't mind a little bit of sugar every once and a while in your baked goods?
ReplyI don't use refined sugar in my baked goods - only natural sugars. Lily's chocolate chips are sugar-free, those are the ones I've been using for the last couple of years. I just feel my best without sugar!