Pumpkin Muffins

 

Tis the season of all-things orange, pumpkin spice-everything and the galore of pumpkin-inspired products.

For the pumpkin spice enthusiast (or obsessed), you'll be happy to hear that the pumpkin is highly nutritious. Packed with beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium, iron, zinc and magnesium, pumpkin is a powerful winter squash vegetable. Also, your gut will be relieved to hear that pumpkins are a great source of fiber. 

If the fall weather has you craving warm foods and you love the taste of pumpkin spice, this easy-to-make recipe is sure to make your tummy smile. Enjoy!

Thank you Joey for including this recipe in a past Trimarni Newsletter. 

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups AP or whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 Tablespoons raw sugar (Turbinado sugar) for sprinkling, optional
• ½ to ¾ cup total of mix ins (such as semi sweet or white chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or pecans, and/or dried cranberries or raisins), optional.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease or line with paper liners a standard 12 cup muffin tin. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, melted butter, yogurt, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined.
5. If desired, stir in mix-ins of your choice.
6. Divide batter equally into each prepared muffin cup (about 3 Tablespoons per muffin cup). If desired, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with raw sugar.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.
8. Let cool in the pan for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Serve and enjoy!

*Make your own pumpkin pie spice by stirring the following spices together (use 2 tsp of this mixture in the recipe in place of the pumpkin pie spice).

1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp allspice

Banana Nut Muffins

If you are a banana lover like myself, you probably go through a lot of bananas on a weekly basis. But every now and then, bananas will turn overly ripe so it's important to have a few go-to recipes so those bananas don't go to waste. If you find that your bananas are extra brown and spotty but you aren't ready to use them just yet, peel them, slice them into chunks and place in a resealable plastic bag and store in the freezer. You can also use frozen banana chunks in smoothies. 

BANANA NUT MUFFINS
Serves: 12 muffins
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Topping:

• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tbsp honey

Muffins:

• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium overripe bananas) 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup 2% or 4% yogurt

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. 
2. Make the topping by combining the walnuts with the honey and cinnamon until evenly coated. This mix will be sticky. Set aside. 
3. For the muffins, use a medium bowl and whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
4. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and honey until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs and beat until fully combined. Add the mashed bananas, vanilla and yogurt and beat until blended with an electric mixer. 
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well blended. 
6. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin until the cup is full. Sprinkle with the nut topping. 
7. Baked muffins for ~25-28 minutes until the top is golden. 
8. Let muffins cool for 5-10 minutes. 

Super Scrumptious Blueberry Muffins

After my run check-point "test" on Sunday morning, I came home in the mood for a blueberry muffin.

 I didn't rush out to buy a muffin but instead, I went to the internet to Google "Blueberry Muffin recipe" and I combined several recipes based on what ingredients I had at home.

While drinking a glass of 1% Organic milk and about 20g of whey protein and eating a banana with a few pitted dates as my recovery snack, I went to work in my kitchen, making seven super scrumptious blueberry muffins. 

INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons butter

1 egg

2/3 cup 0% Greek Yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (you can sub with gluten-free flour if needed)

3/4 cup instant rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp chia seeds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (I used frozen)
Water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. 
2. Melt butter in microwave. Then add egg, yogurt and vanilla until evenly combined.
3. Add dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon) and stir until just combined.
4. Mix in berries (ok if you smash them while stirring).
5. Add a few tbsp of water to help with mixing. Your batter should be thick but a little water can help for even mixing. 
6. In a non-stick muffin tin (you can spray with non-stick spray or use muffin liners), fill the tins 3/4th way full. You should get 6-7 muffins. 
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

If you or your family love muffins, I suggest to double this recipe to make 12-14 muffins and to freeze half.....these muffins will not last long around muffin lovers!
Sorry, no nutritional information.I give you permission to yum over your muffin because it is made from real food, because you prepared it and it makes you feel good inside with every bite.
A great way to enjoy the muffin is as a snack (pre-workout or anytime) or for a balanced meal, yum over your muffin at meal time and top with honey, a little nut butter, Greek yogurt and fruit OR with a protein/fruit/veg smoothie OR with a veggie and egg scramble. 

Honey Pear Muffins

Moist, delicious, flavorful, seasonal, refreshing, fluffy, warm. 

My honey pear muffins are exactly what they are suppose to be.....a tasty and satisfying muffin!

Karel left for Jacksonville, FL yesterday for 3 jammed-packed days of Retül bike fits. 

To make sure my hubby had some healthy/feel-good snacking options for the road trip (and between fits) I packed him a cooler of foods as well as a snack bag.

I also decided to make Karel some muffins since he loves muffins and well, anything that resembles bread. FYI: we are a carb loving family. 

I picked up a few pears the other day and I thought a honey pear muffin creation would be fantastic...and it was!!!

I hope you enjoy the muffins and make sure to yum really loud when you eat them so others around you know how great it feels to eat a yummy creation that you made at home. 

Honey Pear Muffins

2 cups white whole wheat flour (here's a substitution list for baking)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp nutmeg ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup 2% organic milk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pears (very ripe)
Honey - drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a muffin pan, either coat with cooking spray or use paper muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg)
3. In small bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, egg and vanilla.
4. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry and stir until flour is thoroughly mixed.
5. Gently stir in chopped pears.
6. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 full. This recipe should fill an entire muffin tin.
7. On each muffin, use a honey stick (or fork) and drizzle a honey on top each muffin. Optional add chopped walnuts for a little crunch.
8. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until muffins are firm on top. Remove from oven and let cool.