Soft, perfectly sweet, and easy to make, One-Bowl Paleo Carrot Banana Muffins (with collagen!) are super simple to whip up and the perfectly delicious way to get veggies and collagen in at breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
I am a veggie-lovin’ lady. If you have been following me for any length of time, this will not be a new fact for you. If a veggie can be added to a meal, you better believe that I am going to add it! It makes healthy balanced eating a bit easier in so many ways.
However, something you may not know is that I am also a collagen lovin’ lady. And just like veggies, if I can add collagen into a recipe or meal somewhere…you better believe that I’m going to do it.
Why we use collagen.
I can’t say that I really thought too much about collagen….until about a year and a half ago.
In July of 2016, my husband, Ken, fell off his skateboard and injured his elbow. Badly. So badly, in fact, that he needed surgery on it to repair the damage that fall had caused.
I remember sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, laptop out and working on an upcoming post when I saw my husband’s surgeon walking towards me. He didn’t look terribly happy and I instantly snapped my laptop closed, concerned by his expression.
“The injury was worse than I originally thought,” he explained,”Your husband knocked all of the cartilage out of his elbow and that’s not something I can really fix. He’s probably going to feel like he has arthritis in that elbow for the rest of his life.”
Arthritis. My husband was an active 35 year old who loved to be outside, building things for our home, and playing with our young daughter. The idea of him feeling limited due to elbow pain at such a young age (actually, at any age) was unsettling for me.
I really couldn’t accept that Ken was going to feel achy and slow for the rest of his life. And while I wasn’t sure if there was anything that could be done, I decided that a little research couldn’t hurt. That, my friends…is when I discovered collagen.
Wait, what is collagen?
As you might recall for high school biology class, collagen is something we all have kicking around inside of us. It makes up 90% of your connective tissue, 90% of our organic bone mass and 70% of our skin! Collagen quite literally is the glue Mother Nature uses to hold us together!
Benefits of Adding Collagen into Your Diet
Like so many things in life, time takes its evil toll on the collagen in our bodies. Around age 20, we start slowing down our collagen production. This slow down can result in wrinkles, saggy skin, achy joins and weakened bones. The slow down in collagen production wasn’t such a big deal to our ancestors, who ate a diet rich in whole animals foods that naturally contain collagen (like bone broth). However, as our culture, diets and ways of eating changed over the generations, many of us no longer eat foods that help us naturally replenish the collagen in our bodies. (source) .
While looking into ways to help my husband’s injured elbow, I read that adding collagen rich foods like powdered collagen (such as Further Foods Collagen Peptides) into your diet is a wonderful option for helping your body replenish its natural collagen and that could help with stiff and achy joints. My readings also suggested that adding collagen into my diet could help my skin healthy and glowing (not to mention slow down the appearance of those crow’s feet around my eyes), promote strong nails and hair, AND promote strong bones (a total plus to a mom of an accident prone child). (source)
Now, granted guys….I am no doctor and all of this was me just being a nutritional bookworm, but I didn’t see a lot to lose in adding collagen powder into my family’s diets….especially if it might help my husband’s bum elbow get some of its flexibility and range of motion back.
So, I hopped on the collagen train. Every day, I was adding it into not only my husband’s diet, but my own and Alice’s as well. If there was a recipe I could sneak it into, I did it!
And I tried out a BOATLOAD of different collagen powders. Some made with “ehh” ingredients. Others tasting a bit funky. And I finally settled on Further Foods Collagen Peptides. I really loved how it was tasteless, odorless and quickly disappeared into whatever I added it to. Plus, with the only ingredient being grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine collagen peptides, I was sold on how clean, simple and natural their product was.
It is now a year and a half after my husband’s elbow surgery, Ken has ZERO arthritic symptoms. Seriously none! The doctors and physical therapists were stunned by how quickly he bounced back after his accident and we continued to be amazed with how little pain and discomfort he feels after being given such an injury. And while we can’t know for sure that it was the addition of the collagen into our diets that made the difference, our glowing skin, shiny hair and strong nails keeps us buying and using collagen.
How do we use collagen?
I get asked allllllll the time how I incorporate collagen into our diet. And the options are seriously limitless from what I can see, but here are a few ways:
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added in smoothies
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stirred into my morning coffee or Alice’s hot chocolate
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stirred in with oatmeal
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added into baked goods
Baked goods? Yes, totally in baked goods! Adding Further Foods Collagen to a muffin, cookie or any other baked good recipe is a great way to add collagen into your diet AND give those goodies a little boost of protein!
One-Bowl Paleo Carrot Banana Muffins are currently our favorite collagen-loaded bake. Naturally sweet, soft and moist….this is a great introductory recipe to baking with collagen!
Interested in trying out Further Foods Collagen for yourself? Use discount code NATURALNURTURER at checkout on the Further Foods website and get 5% off your order!
Disclaimer: Thank you to Further Foods for sponsoring this post! My promise to you, my readers, is to only promote content and products that I truly believe in and buy myself. All opinions stated in this post are my own.
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple cinder vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup Further Foods Collagen Peptides
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup avocado oil or melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed very well
- 2 medium-large carrots, finely grated
Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix until smooth.
1. Portion the batter into your muffin tin holes and cook for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 10-15 minutes before enjoying. Store leftovers in fridge or in freezer.
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 12 muffins
Comments
Isn’t collagen broken down from protein? So if we eat a diet rich in lean proteins shouldn’t that give enough of the collagen through that?
Hi Ashley!
This is a great question and one I am sure that many others will have as well. I wanted to make sure I gave you an informed answer, so I consulted my expert friends at Further Foods. This is how they explained it:
"The specific amino acids from Collagen can actually only be found from the skin, scales, or bone of animals. In the Western diet, we rarely consume these parts of the animal, so we have made it easy to consume by creating it into a hydrolyzed powder. And since not all collagen proteins are created equally, it is critical for people to use the hydrolyzed powder since this has all of the amino acids already broken down into short chain peptides so it’s absorbed within a few hours in the body."
Hope that helps!
It’s a naturally occurring protein found in the cartilage, bones and hides of cows. If you want to save money, just get bunch of pasture raised chicken bones and feet or 100% grass fed beef bones to make bone broth. It’s time consuming and I usually don’t trust myself to leave the stove on for 24-48 hrs 😂 Most of us are not eating those parts of the cow so it’s easier to use collagen powders.
I know that there a recipes to make bone broth in the crock pot!!
These muffins are so adorable! I seriously love collagen as well and it’s actually a little annoying how fast my nails have been growing haha.
That’s so awesome that your husband isn’t suffering from arthritic pain! I’ll have to let my neighbor know about that. I also need to be better about adding collagen to things as well. I drink bone broth every night but still, it can’t hurt to have some more!
I have been looking for more recipes to add collagen to my diet! I found it really helps my skin tone. Thanks!
This is a great article, thank you! I am interested in getting on the Collagen Train! 🙂 I was wondering, how have you figured out the quantity of powder to add to your food? How much do you put in your coffee, oatmeal, smoothies, etc? Do you always add 1/4 cup to your baked good recipes? Thank you again. PS I learned about you from the Feel Good Effect Podcast – that was a fun and informative interview!
I usually just aim to have 2 tablespoons of collagen a day (the suggested amount for an adult). I typically will do a 1/2 tablespoon in my coffee. 2 in my smoothie (that I share with my family) and so on.
And yes, I typically add about 1/4 cup to baked goods when I use it.
Oh I am so glad you found me through The Feel Good Effect! Talking to Robyn is always a blast!
This is so helpful. I ordered the collagen and I’m going to start! Thank you so much for your response!
Also, I read through some of your past articles, including your recommendation for snacks that can fit in your purse. I ordered the protein/beef sticks and your coupon code still worked! It was such a huge savings!
Thank you for all that you’re doing!
Yay! I’m so glad what I share helps you! Enjoy all the things!
What would you sub the banana for- allergic 🙁
I’ve seen other recipes that use mashed sweet potato or pumpkin – it could be worth a try, though it won’t have the sweetness so you may need to adjust that to taste (I find I need extra sweetener when I use collagen in sweet foods).
These look like muffin perfection! I love adding collagen to baked good. YUM!!
Love the addition of that banana! Looks so yum!
I’ve been meaning to order collagen for a while now, but your story about your husband finally has me motivated to get with it! And I just wanted to say how gorgeous these muffins are, I just love the golden glowy morning light!
These muffins look absolutely gorgeous! I love adding collagen to recipes when I can.
Oh my goodness! Jack would devour these! I’m going to make these for him! Thanks love!
I’m always trying to find easy ways to incorporate collagen into my foods, this is great – thanks for a super recipe!
These look great, and I’m really getting into baking with collagen. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Interesting! This prompted me to research collagen intake. I read that collagen supplements are meant to be ingested 30 minutes or more before a meal, or with powders mixed into a glass of water, juice or veggies smoothie. Studies suggest if collagen powders were combined with a significant amount of other proteins, they wouldn’t be adequately digested. Tasty looking recipe all the same!
Hi!
I’d love to make these muffins but I’m allergic to almonds. Is there a substitute flour I could use instead of almond flour?
New to your website and I’m loving it so far!
Thanks,
Christine
So if one is a vegetarian, I guess collagen is out, right?
Any idea why mine came out so wet? The toothpick came out clean, but they are so wet in the center. Only substitute was using arrowroot powder instead of tapioca. I would probably cut out one or two eggs next time. A different recipe that uses the same dry ingredients, and no banana, only calls for two eggs. One egg might be enough. Bummer! So sad when I waste so many healthy and expensive ingredients!
Hi Katie!
It is a bummer! Are they completely cool? Often times, Paleo baked goods firm up once they are cool but will be too moist when still warm.
These are the best paleo muffins I have made so far! So many recipes yield eggy/fluffy but greasy muffins. These turned out moist and cake like. I did sub organic palm shortening for the oil (maybe that’s the secret:)
Like!! I blog frequently and I really thank you for your content. The article has truly peaked my interest.
I love these! I made them with half almond flour & half oat flour to reduce the fat & they still turned out great! You’re my go to for healthy muffin recipes. Thank you!!!
Oh I am so glad! Love the changes you made! Thanks for taking the time to share with our community ❤️
I love making this with just bananas, no carrots. I use about 3-4 bananas each time. They make my house smell so good! They’re fluffy and satisfying. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoy!!