Muffins for Martians. (How to get carrots into your child!)

Before I had my lovely sons, I used to have couples over for Sunday brunch.  I always made sure that we had bagels when they came over. There was this lovely Bagel shop right by my house, Big Apple Bagels.  I didn't go there for the bagels, though, no way, I went for the dozen little muffins that came WITH the bagels.  They were fantastic and came in a variety of different flavors and textures.  Needless to say, I would eat the muffins on the way home and tell no one that they ever existed.  Seriously, that is how addicted I am to muffins!  Needless to say, my son, James (the one with Autism,) is a muffin maniac as well. The problem is, we had to make our own without dairy, wheat, nuts, bananas, honey, etc.  It took me quite awhile to create a recipe that accommodates his needs and that he would actually eat.  Not to brag or anything, but they are good!  The best part? They don't have gluten, dairy, nuts, bananas, honey, or even sugar!  Plus, they have carrots, applesauce, and a few chocolate chips thrown in for good measure. Without further jabber, here is my recipe for my carrot, applesauce, and chocolate chip muffins:

Ingredients:

1 cup of white rice flour (I prefer Bob's Red Mill.)
Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground White Rice Flour, Gluten Free, 24 oz (1 lb 8 oz) 680 g by ClubNatural
1 small carrot, finely shredded
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 teaspoons of GF Baking Powder
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of organic applesauce
1 egg
2 tablespoons of Canola Oil
1/2 cup of dairy-free alternative (I use almond milk or Van's dairy-free, use what your child can tolerate.)
1/3 cup of Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Chips
Enjoy Life Foods Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips 10 Oz

Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and carrot shreds together with a spoon (Do not user a MIXER!)

Combine the canola oil, egg,dairy-free alternative, and applesauce together, stir into dry mixture.

Do not, DO NOT over-stir! A little lumpiness makes for a good muffin.  Fold in the Chocolate Chips.

Pour into muffin tin, should make a dozen regular-size muffins and about 20 mini-muffins, and six large muffins if you want to keep them all to yourself, MWAH-HA-HA!

Put on medium rack of a 425 degree F pre-heated oven for 18 minutes.  Let them cool a bit, as the chocolate chips might burn little mouths. Enjoy them with your beverage of choice.

I would love feedback on this recipe so let me know! Cheers and Good Luck!