It’s starting to feel a lot like winter! On cold weekend days, I love spending an afternoon baking & cooking! Saturday afternoon involved pumpkin muffins, flax cookies & a pot of minestrone soup (stay tuned for more recipes!) Not only does the afternoon of baking warm up the kitchen, the smells were delicious!

These muffins are yummy! I started with an original recipe from “The Eat-Clean Diet cookbook” and made a few substitutions–pumpkin, dairy & gluten free! Many  muffins can be sugar loaded and much more cake-like; however, these are a great no sugar added option! There is a squeeze of maple syrup for a little extra flavour; however, the pumpkin, spices & raisins make their own sweet factor! (For good measure, I also sprinkled some Maple Flax Crunch on top of 1/2 my muffins before baking!)

Pumpkin Muffins

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 egg whites + 1 yolk
• 2tbsp vegetable oil
• 1-2tbsp maple syrup
• 1tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ½ cup soy milk
• ¾ cup brown rice flour
• ½ cup raisins

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line 12 muffin pan with paper liners or coat with cooking spray
2. Combine oatmeal, pumpkin, milk/alternatives, eggs, maple syrup and oil. Mix until well blended
3. Measure & mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Make a well in the center and pour wet ingredients into dry. Add raisins. Mix until dry ingredients are just moistened.
4. Fill muffin cups ~2/3 full. Make 15-20min or until golden.

 Nutrition analysis: 136cal, 3.8g fat, 2.2g fibre, 3.7g protein, 147mg sodium, 5.7g sugar