skinny mini pumpkin muffins

I have recently moved and although packing has never been a favorite of mine, this move was much easier than expected. The packing, the transporting, the carrying, the unpacking, all were not quite as gruesome as I recall. Maybe it is because I am use to moving every year and I have learned to make things easier (maybe I’ll do a moving tips post later). I am not quite settled in yet…well, that’s an understatement. If I am gauging this off of the level of groceries in my pantry and refrigerator, then I am dogging it. One of the things I have learned from moving is this: it is a pain to transport food (in my opinion)–having to keep it all cold/frozen, worrying about spills and glass breaking etc. That is why this time, I hadn’t been grocery shopping the two weeks prior to moving–and confession…I still have yet to go. Needless to say, my food intake has been all over the place and it’s killing me and my workouts, but it has given me plenty of opportunities to use what I have and get creative. Exhibit A: Skinny Mini Pumpkin Muffins.

Being the baker that I am, I only seemed to have a bounty of easy to transport baking supplies such as canned pumpkin, flax seeds, flour, sugar, cinnamon, etc. That is when I decided to bake up (yes bake, despite being summer–and bake something pumpkin for that matter) some muffins!

Ingredients

♦ ¼ c water

♦ 2 T ground flax seeds

♦ 1 egg (or double water and flax seed amount)

♦ 1 c canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

♦ cinnamon to taste (I usual pour it in)

♦ ¾ c whole wheat pastry flour

♦ 1/3 c blonde coconut sugar

♦ ¼ t baking powder

♦ ¼ t baking soda

♦ ¼ t salt

Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F. Then mix the water and ground flax together and stick in the refrigerator to chill for 15-20 minutes. This creates a gel consistency, also know as a “flax egg.” I learned this technique when I was vegan and I still use it from time to time, like when I am low on eggs or just want to incorporate some flax into my baking.