PUMPKIN “PALEO-ISH” MUFFINS

From pumpkin lattes to pumpkin bread tis the season to begin to introduce warming comfort foods! Don’t bog down your nourishment with refined sugars and additives, use pumpkin as a whole food to boost your body’s functionality! Just 1 cup of cooked pumpkin offers 200% your daily needed vitamin A in the form that best protects your vision. The soluble fiber and zinc in pumpkin play a role for blood sugar and insulin regulation while the phytosterols in the seeds aid in lowering your bad cholesterol levels. The abundance of antioxidants serve to scavenge free radicals while protecting against oxidative damage and decrease inflammation in the body.

Select squash/pumpkin that is firm and heavy for its size. Winter squash that is ripe and fresh will have a dense rind with stem in tact. Winter squash stores significantly longer than summer squash and is less temperature sensitive. Store in cool dry place for up to 4 months. Consider steaming and pureeing extra squash to store in freezer to toss into soups, sauces, bisques, etc. The seeds scooped out from all squash (not just pumpkin) can be a great snack as well! After rinsing seeds and removing all strings/flesh. Soak them in a sea salt brine of 1/8 cup salt per 1.5 cups water for 4-6 hours, strain, roast in oven for 15-20 minutes at 200 F.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup almond flour

½ cup coconut flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 scoop Naturally Nourished Grassfed Whey Protein Powder

¼ tsp sea salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup melted grass-fed butter

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/4 cup sucanat or date sugar (if eating lower carb or keto, can omit this!)

1/4 cup maple syrup

3 eggs (soy-free, GMO-free, pasture-raised)

1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line muffin tin with coconut oil or butter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, powder, protein powder, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, whisk butter, oil, sugar, syrup, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. Batter will be thick. Portion into your muffin tin. Bake until puffed, cooked through, about 35-40 min.

PUMPKIN “PALEO-ISH” MUFFINS