Fall is such a great season, crisp air, crunchy leaves and the return of pumpkins, squash and the scent of cinnamon everywhere. I happen to like fall because it's when my husband and I celebrate our birthdays, but also more importantly because of the food! I love root vegetables, especially squashes, and also the excuse to drink my own weight in fresh apple cider! While getting coffee the other day I noticed some delicious looking pumpkin muffins, donuts and cakes at several coffee shops, but when I looked up the nutritional information I saw just how much butter and sugar went into them! Since I have somewhat of a disdain for sugar, it prompted me to put my apron back on and get some kitchen chemistry rolling! Today's feature is a muffin filled with nutritious elements, that actually tastes delicious! I used some alternative ingredients to come up with a healthy and tasty pumpkin treat!
The base of this recipe is pumpkin, which is a great vegetable! Pumpkin, like carrots is full of carotenoids, which give these vegetables their classic orange colour. Carotenoids are important for eye health, and the body uses them by converting them to vitamin A. A specific carotenoid, beta-carotene has also been linked to reducing cancer risk by helping to destroy free radicals in the system. Imagine, battling cancer while enjoying a delicious muffin! Beta-carotene is also a proven wrinkle fighter, so pumpkin helps keep you looking young too! Pumpkins, as well as other squashes are extremely high in fibre, which can help with healthy weight maintenance, by keeping you full longer and keeping a healthy digestive tract. Since pumpkin is very filling, and low in calories (only 50 calories in a cup of mashed pumpkin) it's a great way to stay full longer. Pumpkin is also a great post-workout food, because it's super high in potassium (about 560mg in a cup), which is even higher than bananas (which are also an excellent source of potassium). Potassium is an important electrolyte for your heart and body muscles, which is lost in sweat. Instead of grabbing an energy drink after exercise, consider something with pumpkin!
This recipe is also refined sugar free, as it is sweetened with honey, and I used homemade flours to keep it even healthier. This recipe can be easily made with regular flours too if you're intimidated by using homemade flour, but it recommend checking my post on homemade flours and see just how easy it is to make them!
In this recipe I also used diced apples, I even used the cores! Yuck you say? When they are copped small and cooked you won't even notice the texture. Be sure to remove the seeds however, they are difficult to chew & digest and there is some truth to them being poisonous (although 150lb person woud need to eat about 150 of them in one sitting for them to be toxic). The cores are high in pectin, which is great for digestive tract health, and warding off cancers like colon or rectal cancer, as well as is high in fibre, which again is great for weight loss!
1 & 3/4 c pumpkin purée (not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling if you're using store bought, which is full of sugar, spices and additives. Be sure to get pure pumpkin, or make your own!)
2 eggs
2 c grated zucchini
2 c finely diced apples (~2 med apples)
1/3 - 1/2 c honey or agave nectar
2 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar (acid reacts with baking soda & baking powder to make muffins rise)
1/4 tsp clove
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c quinoa flour
2/3 c almonds - puréed
1/4 c flax seeds
1/2 c bran
1 c oat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1) preheat oven to 350 degree
2) In a large bowl, mix together all wet ingredients (including apples & zucchini),except lemon juice.
3) Add puréed almonds (don't just use almond flour, because you need the fats and oils in the almonds for this recipe too. If you don't want to purée almonds, add 1/3 c coconut oil, nut butter or butter to the recipe). Mix well.
4) Add baking soda & baking powder, spices & lemon juice, mix well.
5) Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix well.
6) Add batter to greased muffin tins, or loaf pans, filling to 3/4 full. These muffins won't rise much, but they need a bit of space to expand.
7) Bake at 350 for 30 mins (muffins) or 45 mins (loaves) or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
