Lovely wheat-free carrot cake muffins – gluten-free, xanthan gum free.

Wake up with a warm and lovely carrot cake muffin.

Ah, January. We're in it, now. Winter is in full swing. Which makes yours truly want to crank up the oven and bake- and with skies as gray and thick as old flannel, darling, it has to be muffins.

Something bright and light and perfect with tea. Something fun to lo lift our cabin-feverish spirits. Something, perhaps, like these tender little bundles of gluten-free joy. So cute and sunny.

I love the carroty color. The subtly fragrant texture of coconut flour and quinoa flakes. A hint of cinnamon and ginger. A bite of raisin.

Seriously tea worthy.

And more fiber rich than say, a powdered donut. Or your average gluten-free bagel which is nothing but starch (not that I have anything against starch these days; I am rather embracing Doris of late). But this is a treat you can eat without a heavy helping of self-imposed guilt on top.

Truth is I don't count calories or worry about dieting.

At my age (or any age?) I think worrying can make you gain weight.

Focusing on all the food you can't have. Thinking about how many bites is too much. Cutting back so drastically on caloric intake or carbs or fat that your blood sugar plunges faster than a carnival ride. You don't want to be around me if I'm on a diet- or a low-carb regimen. I am one wildly cranky be-atch.

I lose brain cells.

I see flashing lights.

I tip over.

I claw through the refrigerator overwhelmed with the gnawing sensation of deprivation.

Until I find the long lost bag of gluten-free pretzels.

Then I'm done.

And done in.

So I don't bother with the details when I need to lose make friends with my yearly winter weight gain.
I do try to keep moving. Because the reason I gain a pie roll this time of year has less to do with carbs and fat grams than you think. It's not the morning muffin that gives me my muffin top. It's the hibernation. The paucity of exercise. The bump on the log that I become once the sun sets- at 4:42 PM.

It's hard to burn calories watching reruns of Mad Men and Downton Abbey.

Unless you're on a treadmill.

Which, sadly, I am allergic to.

Really I am.

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