Pumpkin season is here! I'm not gonna lie, I love all things pumpkin, so I do a happy dance when stores start releasing pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING.
This is a great time to remind ourselves to check ingredients and read those labels before we go crazy buying up all the pumpkin products. When you flip to the Nutrition Facts label on a product you want to keep an eye on ingredient quality and added sugars.
A good rule of thumb is no more than 5 grams of sugar per 100 calorie serving. So, if the food you're going to eat is 200 calories, keep it at 10 grams of sugar or less. (This applies to food with added sugar, not fruit.)
Added sugar is sneaky and hides in so many places we would never expect (like salad dressings... ugh!). A few teaspoons here and a few teaspoons there really do add up and wreak havoc on our health, mood, and waistline. Be vigilant and check those labels!
A couple years ago my kids became obsessed with this pumpkin muffin recipe and I made it every single weekend with leftover bananas from the week before. Last Saturday my 6-year old woke up with an agenda to bake (I'm not kidding you, he was dead set on using the Kitchen Aid mixer) so I decided to pull out my trusty pumpkin muffin recipe and it was a hit once again!
This recipe makes 12-18 muffins but sometimes I'll make them smaller (more kid-sized) and stretch the recipe to 24. I did that last weekend and our family ate a dozen muffins in one day. Yikes! But I don't feel guilty at all because this recipe is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and sugar free. It's full of healthy fats, real pumpkin, and protein. They're really yummy some grass-fed butter melted all over too!
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
Makes 12 – 18 servings
Ingredients:
2 bananas
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
½ cup almond butter
4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup tapioca starch (also known as tapioca flour)
¼ cup ground flax seeds
¼ cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350* F. Line the muffin pans with paper liners OR grease with coconut oil. (I like the Chosen Foods coconut oil spray.)
Combine the bananas, pumpkin puree, almond butter, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla in a stand mixer, blender, or food processor. Mix well, making sure the bananas are mashed completely.
Add in the tapioca starch, ground flax seeds, coconut flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Pour the batter evenly among the cupcake liners. I usually make 18-24 so they are smaller for the kids, but feel free to make them whatever size you want.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool. Enjoy!
