Clean Pumpkin Muffins

       That moment when you realize; the school year is back in full swing, your first wedding anniversary is fast approaching, and you feel like a bloated mess...

That's when you coax your hubby into a clean eating lifestyle, until further notice.

We're eating all fruits and veggies, lean proteins, healthy fats and staying away from white rice, pasta and bread.

Anywho, I've said all that to say, here is my first baked goodie. I was afraid that making a healthy muffin would result in a dry, flavorless, mess... So glad I was wrong. I loved the result and I want to share the recipe with you.

What you'll need:

Ingredients

3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp all natural peanut butter ( or your fav nut butter)
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp flax seeds ( I didn't grind mine, I like the crunch factor. Otherwise, grind em!)

1tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1tsp baking soda

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 dried cranberries

cooking spray

Tools:

Oven ;)

food processor

baking tins or muffin tin

Directions:

• preheat your oven to 350
• use your processor to grind the oats
• remove oats from processor and place in a medium bowl
• add dry ingredients to  bowl with oats, stir ( excluding walnuts and cranberries) 
• add pumpkin, egg, honey, nut butter and vanilla to processor
• mix until smooth
• add dry ingredients to wet, mix
• fold nuts and cranberries into your batter 
• spray your tin
• fill 2/3 full with batter ( top with more nuts and berries if you desire) 
• bake until a tooth pick comes out clean
• cool in pan then, remove and finish cooling on wire rack

 Recipe yields 6 muffins.

Your oatmeal should resemble flour, once chopped

Pumpkin puree

Filling the tins

Fresh from the oven

Hope you enjoy!

That's my 2 cents!

-Kimba

Chewy Cranberry Almond Oat Bars

Hello Friends,

Need a healthy snack? Want to make it fresh?  If so, keep reading.

Healthy, check. Flavorful, check. Vegan, check. Today I'd like to share a simple cranberry almond oatmeal bar recipe with you. (I made this recipe with my vegan friends in mind.)  You'll only need 7 ingredients. With mashed banana standing in for sugar and fat, you're on your way to a healthy snack.

What you'll need:

2 cups old fashioned oats

2 ripe bananas

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup almonds (crush half, leave half whole)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

NOTE: This recipe yields 8 oat bars.

Easy instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 350.
• In a large bowl, mash two large bananas. Press out all lumps. (use a large spoon to mash the bananas against the side of your bowl.)

• Add 2 cups of oats and mix well with spoon until all oats have lumped together.
• Sprinkle with salt, drizzle vanilla, mix again.

      

•  Add cranberries and almonds by folding into mixture with spoon.

• Coat cookie sheet with cooking spray press your oat mixture onto pan. (Cookie sheets are too big. Use the edge of your spoon to press your oats into a rectangular shape.)
• Sprinkle with cinnamon.

• Bake for 30 minutes
• Remove, allow to cool. Cut, and enjoy. Wrap your leftovers in wax paper to snack on later.

 That's my 2 cents!

-Kimba