Hi Bakers! Team Reilly has been koo-koo lately to say the least. Our youngest child Annie (age 2 3/4) was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in February, joining the ranks with our son Jake. Just like Jake, she was diagnosed at home when I got worried about the fact that she peed her pants twice in a row and was developing a yeast rash in her diaper area (she still wears a diaper at night). Her fingerprick blood sugar after eating a bowl of dried cranberries was 418. Luckily, her A1C was 7.8% and according to our doc, we caught the diabetes earlier than any other patient (Yay? Not necessarily a claim to fame that I was striving for!). And since she had only trace ketones, we put her to sleep and headed to the hospital the next day. Once we saw Annie’s high blood sugar, Jake (age 7 now) immediately took Annie to “Diabetes Camp” in the basement and secretly whispered to me that he’s glad he’s no longer the only kid in the family with type 1. On the bright side, these 2 kids will have each other for the long haul and that gives us amazing comfort.

While I dreaded the possibility of another type 1 diagnosis in our family, Annie has been unphased and was immediately put on a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor and the Omnipod insulin pump making our lives incredibly easier and making it so that she basically doesn’t even know she has diabetes. In fact, check out my blog on type 1 diabetes on KrisCarr.com – it was written before Annie’s diagnosis, but talks about the tricks and tips that have helped us with Jake’s diabetes management. And apparently the universe congratulated us in February for our mad skills in managing diabetes! Yikes.

So! Inspired by Annie and her minuscule needs for insulin right now, I created these mini muffins that she (and we!) could snack on all day long without needing insulin. They are full of healthy ingredients, taste amazing, are gluten-free, and go down really easily. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Annie’s Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
Makes 30

2 bananas, mashed (can be fresh or thawed frozen)
1/3 cup Smart Balance or Earth Balance margarine, melted
1/4 cup almond butter
2 Tbsp ground flax seed meal
1/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 cup almond flour
1/3 cup Swerve sweetener (Erythritol, found cheapest at Vitacost)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup Lily’s mini chocolate chips (Stevia-sweetened, but regular dark choc chips work too)

Mix all ingredients together except chocolate chips. Once mixed, stir in the chips and pour into lightly sprayed mini muffin tins 2/3 of the way, or regular muffin tins half way.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool before removing from tins (if you can!).

Per muffin: 70 calories, 6 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 g carbs, 2.4 g fiber (2.6 g net carbs), 1 g sugar, 2 g protein. 

Now I want to hear from you! Post your favorite low-carb snacks and recipes — Annie and her blood sugars will thank you!

xo, Jen