--- title: "Grilled Cheese & Peanut Butter Banana Muffins: Grain Free and Guilt Free!" description: Zone recipes for Grain-Free Grilled Cheese and Beth’s Peanut Butter Banana Muffins that are fast and easy to whip up with no real cooking skills required. image: https://www.zonediet.com/uploads/2015-5-banner-knorr.png --- ##### Shop By Category - [ Best Seller ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/best-sellers) - [ Omega-3s ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/omega-3-fish-oil) - [ Polyphenols ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/polyphenols) - [ Zone Foods ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/zone-foods) - [ Blood Tests ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/blood-tests) - [ Supplements ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/supplements) - [ Books ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/books) - [ Skin Care ](https://zoneliving.com/collections/skin-care-1) - [ Metabolic Engineering ](https://zoneliving.com/collections/metabolic-engineering) - Best Seller [ Shop All ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/all) ##### Shop By Zone Food - [ Zone Muffins ](https://zoneliving.com/collections/zone-muffins) - [ Zone Pasta ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/zone-pasta) - [ Zone Shakes ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/zone-shakes) - [ Zone Bars ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/zone-nutrition-bars) - [ Olive Oil ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/olive-oil) [ Shop All ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/collections/all) [![easy-to-make](https://blog.zoneliving.com/hubfs/Global_2023/easy-to-make.webp) ](https://zoneliving.myshopify.com/blogs/recipes) Easy-to-make recipes just for you. 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D | Creator of the Zone Diet # [Grilled Cheese & Peanut Butter Banana Muffins: Grain Free and Guilt Free!](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/zone-living-newsletter-articles/grilled-cheese-and-peanut-butter-banana-muffins-grain-free-and-guilt-free) - ** - [**](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.zoneliving.com%2Fzoneliving%2Fzone-living-newsletter-articles%2Fgrilled-cheese-and-peanut-butter-banana-muffins-grain-free-and-guilt-free) - [**](https://www.twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.zoneliving.com%2Fzoneliving%2Fzone-living-newsletter-articles%2Fgrilled-cheese-and-peanut-butter-banana-muffins-grain-free-and-guilt-free) - [**](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/zone-living-newsletter-articles/grilled-cheese-and-peanut-butter-banana-muffins-grain-free-and-guilt-free) - [**](https://plus.google.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.zoneliving.com%2Fzoneliving%2Fzone-living-newsletter-articles%2Fgrilled-cheese-and-peanut-butter-banana-muffins-grain-free-and-guilt-free) Written by Sue Knorr on May 12, 2015   One of my passions is experimenting in the kitchen, and being “in the Zone” for the last 20 years hasn’t changed that a bit. What has changed are the ingredients I use, and the amount of time I have to spend cooking, which is limited at best.    Both of these recipes are fast and easy to whip up with no real cooking skills needed. Give them a try. Your family will love you for it!   ### **Grain-Free Grilled Cheese** **Makes 1 fully balanced meal** The inspiration for this recipe came from one of the current cauliflower hacks circulating online. It’s amazing what folks can come up with from a simple head of cauliflower. This one took some changes to be Zone worthy, but it was well worth the effort. The result is a delicious and very filling meal. To balance the meal, serve with a colorful cabbage slaw and some berries for dessert.   **Ingredients:** - 2 cups steamed cauliflower, white or the colorful type (steamed just until tender but not mushy) - 2 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork - 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella - 2 1-oz. slices reduced-fat cheese (I use part-skim mozzarella because it melts nicely)   **Directions:** 1.  Preheat oven to 450°. 2. Grate cauliflower to a fine consistency in a mini food processor. Take care not to puree it. 3. Press the grated cauliflower between paper towels to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. 4. Transfer cauliflower to a mixing bowl and combine with the egg whites and grated mozzarella. 5. On a parchment-covered baking sheet shape the mixture into two squares the size of bread slices. 6. Bake until golden. 7. Assemble the cauliflower “bread” and cheese slices as you would a grilled cheese sandwich and heat in a skillet on the stove top over low heat to melt the cheese.   ### **Beth****’****s Peanut Butter Banana Muffins** **Yield 28 mini muffins, each containing 3 blocks fat** This recipe makes a surprisingly tender, light and fluffy muffin, each one containing approximately 4.5 grams fat and negligible amounts of protein and carbohydrate. This is based on a recipe my daughter makes, and my grandkids love. I changed a few things to make it fit the Zone. Consider one muffin to be the dash of monounsaturated fat in the average-size Zone meal.   **Ingredients:** - 2 bananas - 1 cup of a combination of almond butter and peanut butter (I use mostly peanut butter in the mix) - 4 large egg whites - 1 teaspoon vanilla - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda - 1 teaspoon cider vinegar - Optional: 1 small squirt of agave syrup **Directions:** 1. Preheat oven to 400°. 2. Prepare a 24-cup mini-muffin pan by wiping a small amount of olive oil into each cup or use muffin papers instead of oiling the pan. Place 4 additional mini-muffin paper baking cups in a baking dish to yield a total of 28 muffins. 3. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well with an immersion blender. 4. Spoon the mixture into the 24-cup mini-muffin pan plus the 4 additional paper mini-muffin cups. 5. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes. 6. Remove from the oven and cool for a minute or two before removing the muffins from the pan. ### **Enjoy!** [Zone Diet ](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/topic/zone-diet), [Recipes ](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/topic/recipes) ### Popular stories [Easy Hearty And Healthy Chili Recipe](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/zone-living-newsletter-articles/easy-hearty-and-healthy-chili-recipe) Nov 01, 2013 [Milk and Milk Substitutes—What You Need to Know](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/zone-living-newsletter-articles/milk-many-types-liquid-nutrition) Apr 05, 2017 [Tasty Recipes in: The Mediterranean Zone](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/zone-living-newsletter-articles/tasty-recipes) Oct 03, 2014 ### Posts by Tags - [Zone Diet (59)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/zone-diet) - [Zone Living (48)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/zone-living) - [Recipes (45)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/recipes) - [Peak Performance (41)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/peak-performance) - [Omega-3 Fish Oil (35)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/omega-3-fish-oil) - [Healthy Eating (30)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/healthy-eating) - [Testimonial (24)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/testimonial) - [Dr. Barry Sears (20)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/dr-barry-sears) - [Healthy Aging (17)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/healthy-aging) - [Polyphenols (17)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/polyphenols) - [Weight Loss (16)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/weight-loss) - [Newsletter Article (15)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/newsletter-article) - [Holidays (14)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/holidays) - [Evidence-Based Wellness (10)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/evidence-based-wellness) - [Childhood Nutrition (9)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/childhood-nutrition) - [Restaurants (8)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/restaurants) - [Zone Cruise (5)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/zone-cruise) - [Food & Nutrition (2)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/food-nutrition) - [Pro-Resolution Nutrition (2)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/pro-resolution-nutrition) - [Exercise (1)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/exercise) - [Fittness (1)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/fittness) - [Fruits & Vegetables (1)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/fruits-vegetables) - [Inflammation (1)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/inflammation) - [Strength Training (1)](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/tag/strength-training) [See all](https://blog.zoneliving.com/zoneliving/zone-living-newsletter-articles/grilled-cheese-and-peanut-butter-banana-muffins-grain-free-and-guilt-free#) ### Let Us Know What You Thought about this Post. 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