PUMPKIN MUFFINS

I love pumpkin, as do most people, especially in the Fall.  These made my kitchen smell amazing as they were baking, and did not disappoint when we tasted them either. The texture came out perfect.  They were just the right moistness and flavor.  I decided to glaze them but you could do a crumble topping (which I am going to try next time), or just dip in butter and sprinkle with granulated sweetener or powdered sweetener.  Feel free to add nuts or homemade craisins or whatever.

Next week is our 42nd wedding anniversary.  We're going to take a trip back to our honeymoon location. Many of you know I shared that my husband has mild cognitive impairment, probable Alzheimer's.  We did find he has the Apoe4 gene that makes him more susceptible genetically.  So far our supplement regimen and mct oil (and lots of prayer) has kept him pretty steady for the last 3 years, so I'm thankful for another anniversary we can enjoy together yet. I'm thinking of some ideas for food that can be taken with on our trip.  This will be one of them.  I may try this in a bundt pan as well, or even a loaf pan for pumpkin bread.  Hmmm, in fact I think it would make a great french toast!

                      

                             Pumpkin Muffins

Recipe By     :Ginny

Serving Size  : 9    

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1  cup  almond flour - Honeyville

1/3  cup  whey protein isolate, Isopure -- (unflavored)

2  tablespoons  psyllium husk powder

1/2  cup  Pyure sweetener -- (or your choice granulated sweetener)

2  teaspoons  baking powder

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1  teaspoon  cinnamon

1  teaspoon  pumpkin pie spice

1/2  cup  Silk unsweetened almond milk, vanilla

1/2  cup  canned pumpkin

1/4  cup  cocout oil -- melted

2  eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In mixing bowl, add almond flour, whey protein isolate, psyllium powder, sweetener, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.  Whisk together to combine.

Make a well in the center and add almond milk, pumpkin, coconut oil, and eggs.

Whisk the wet ingredients in the center until combined and then from the sides, stir in dry ingredients and stir together just until combined. Don't overmix. 

Scoop into greased muffin tins, or I used silicone muffin cups which don't need to be greased.  

Bake 18 to 20 minutes.

Cool and sprinkle with powdered sweetener or ice with your favorite icing*

*Icing idea - mix powdered sweetener, vanilla, and heavy cream to icing consistency. I powder my sweetener in my coffee grinder.

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Per Serving: 118 Calories; 8g Fat (54.3% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber

NOTES : I got 9 muffins, filling 3/4 full.  

2g net carbs 

"PRETZEL CRUST"-STRAWBERRY PRETZEL DESSERT ALTERNATIVE

                   
Everybody loves the Strawberry Pretzel Dessert when holiday season comes around.  Being low carb we can't do the pretzels but here is a very nice alternative.  This was an idea brought to me by a facebook friend, Jeanette, who did her own wonderful version and gave me the idea of using pork rinds.  Now, I'll have to say, I'm not really a fan of pork rinds.  I think they smell bad and I'd never eat them all by themselves.  They just gross me out.  But I've been discovering some really good uses for them when you crumble them up and use them in recipes or for breading on chicken or in this case, in a pretzel crust.  I couldn't believe how good it tasted in this crust! 

I made the cream filling from my Raspberry Delight


and then I decided since I had blueberries to make a blueberry topping this time.  But you can do any topping really for this that you like.  Any frozen berries can be easily made into a nice topping. My blueberry topping was made with thawed berries and Walden Farms blueberry syrup.  You can use the raspberry topping in my recipe above, or use strawberries instead if you want the strawberry pretzel dessert alternative.

I hope you'll be as excited about this as I was!  My non-low-carb family loved it, and nobody asked me what that was in the crust or questioned it.  I didn't tell them either.  That will be our little secret.

"Pretzel" Crust

Recipe By     :Ginny
Serving Size  : 16 

1  cup  pork rind crumbled in food processor
1  cup  finely chopped pecans
1/3  cup  whey protein
1/2 cup brown sugar replacement*see below
1/4  cup  coconut oil
1  tsp.  vanilla.

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In 10-inch pie plate, add crumbled pork rinds, chopped pecans, whey protein, and brown sugar replacement. Stir together with a fork until well combined.

3. Melt coconut oil in microwave and add vanilla.  Pour over crumbs and stir together until well combined.

4. Press into bottom of pie plate.  Bake for 10 minutes.

*brown sugar replacement: I mix 1/2 cup of erythritol and 1/4 tsp blackstrap molasses in my food processor and pulse until it comes together and looks like brown sugar.  There are other brown sugar replacements as well available on Amazon.com.  You can use whatever you like, or just use plain sweetener such as Pyure (erythritol and stevia-double the sweeteness of sugar, so 1/2 cup equals 1 cup sugar) or erythritol, or Swerve, whatever you prefer.

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Per Serving:  166 Calories; 13g Fat (69.8% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber