My favorite Pumpkin Recipe 2016

Still got your Fall decorations?

Pumpkins are NOT just to highlight your front door for Halloween. They are tasty treats with so many health benefits: high fiber, low sugar, rich in potassium, Vitamin A, anti-oxidants, and carotenoids, they are the perfect slow-burn complex carb.

The seeds are noteworthy too. I recommend them regularly for their digestive and anti-parasitic benefits, and they support prostate health for men. Plus, who doesn’t love a little spicy or salty crunch occasionally?

Below is my fave pumpkin recipe for this year, plus 3 different ways to roast your seeds.

For either recipe, you can also use any other winter squash, like butternut, acorn, etc.

Pumpkin Muffins

(Gluten Free Sugar Free Dairy Free )

I made a double batch of these and my son gobbled them up! So did the lucky clients who came to the office this week!

Preheat oven to 350 and place unbleached liners in muffin pans.

Ingredients

3 cups almond flour
1 cup xylitol
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves

4 tablespoons Red Palm Oil (I like using this for baking but you can also use pastured butter, ghee, or coconut oil if you soften first.)
4 large eggs
2 cup fresh baked pumpkin (or any winter squash)

Directions

In a large bowl mix together almond flour, xylitol, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Blend any lumps and bumps.

Blend oil, eggs and pumpkin . I use my Vitamix for this.

Stir wet ingredients into dry
Place paper liners in muffin pan and fill about 2/3 full.
Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes
Cool thoroughly, at least one hour
Makes 16-20 muffins

Pumpkin Seeds

Love Toasted #Pumpkin Seeds? Here are 3 options, including one that’s absolutely foolproof!
1. Make them in a pan. Oil the bottom of a heavy skillet, heat, and add washed and dried seeds. Add seasonings (I love cumin, hot pepper and a little Himalayan sea salt, but you can use garlic, onion powder, curry or chili powder – use your imagination), then shake and stir until they’re done to your liking. About 20 minutes on low-medium heat is when you should start checking.

2. Oven. Rinse, dry, and toss them with a little oil, salt and spices. Lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. The lower the oven temperature, the longer it will take. Figure about an hour at 300 degrees, but check while they’re cooking. You want to take them out as soon as they start to turn brown.