Bye Bye Pandas: Passover Pandaberry Muffins

Ever since I was a little girl, I was obsessed with the San Diego Zoo.  And this is years before we even lived in California.   When I was in 4th grade, living in Pennsylvania I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo.  My parents went to San Diego for a conference and brought home a book from the zoo and it was one of my most treasured possessions. 

One of the best parts of the zoo, in my opinion, were the pandas.  I love the pandas at the zoo.  So given all that history you can imagine my immense disappointment when I learned last month that the pandas were leaving the zoo at the end of April.

The pandas at the zoo were on loan from China as part of a breeding program.  The program was successful, and now that the last of the babies are old enough to have babies of their own, it's time for them to go home.

Obviously we had to go visit before the last ones left.  We even waited in a ridiculously long line, because we were not the only ones with this idea.

Alllllmost there!  We could see the not-so-little guy!

There he is! Completely oblivious, just munching away on his bamboo.

I just love this picture.  Thatkid looks completely mesmerized.  He didn't want to leave.  He just wanted to stand there and watch.

Bye bye pandas!  Come back and visit ANYTIME!

I wanted to commemorate the event with a special panda treat - but we're a little limited right now with Passover.  But, Passover muffins are something we go through like gangbusters in this house, so panda-fying some Passover muffins seemed like a good way to go.

Because it's for Passover, this is also a great gluten-free recipe for use year round.  

Passover Pandaberry Muffins

1/4 cup almond flour

2 Tbsp coconut flour

2 Tbsp tapioca flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 ripe banana, mashed

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

3 eggs

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup blackberries

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 6 cups of a muffin tin.  Whisk together the flours, starch, and salt.
2. Combine the banana, coconut oil, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer.
3. Add one at a time, blending between each addition.
4. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until blended.
5. Stir in berries.  Divide between the muffin cups.
6. Use blackberries and blueberries to create a panda face on the top of each muffin.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown.  Let cool in pan and enjoy!