Pumpkin Apple Oat Muffins

Moist, tender muffins loaded with pumpkin, warm cozy spices and a bit of apple, with bits of dried cranberry and walnuts, these muffins are super healthy, but they taste so lovely, it feels like eating cake for breakfast! With just a bit of brown sugar and a light touch of maple syrup, most of the sweetness in these muffins comes from the pumpkin and apples.

Why are these muffins healthy?

Let’s take a look at the key ingredients in these pumpkin apple oat muffins:

• Pumpkin: High in fiber (7g per cup), pumpkin helps keeps you energized and your digestive system cleaned out. Pumpkin is also loaded with blood pressure-regulating minerals like potassium, magnesium, and iron that provide oxygen to red blood cells, so it’s good for your heart. Pumpkin also contains antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamins C and E that boost immunity. (Source: Good Housekeeping)
• Apple: Apples have been linked to numerous health benefits, including improved gut health and reduced risk of stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and some cancers.
• Oat bran: Oat bran is high in soluble fiber and it also contains beta-glucan (also known as β-glucan), a soluble fiber that has been linked to lowering cholesterol. Oat bran also contains polyphenols which helps reduce the risk of diabetes and other diseases and control your weight.
• Whole wheat flour: If you tolerate the gluten in wheat, it does offer several health benefits. Whole wheat is rich in vitamins and minerals, offers fiber, protein, and other plant compounds that make it a good choice for baked goods. (Source: Healthline). Note: If you don’t tolerate wheat, you can substitute brown rice flour which also contains fiber, phytochemicals and minerals that offer several health benefits.
• Walnuts: Walnuts are rich in essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, fats and plant compounds. These healthy nuts contribute to a healthy gut, help lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and other diseases and, surprisingly, they even help reduce hunger and sugar cravings. (Source: Healthline)
• Eggs: Eggs are a great source of vitamin D, folate, B vitamins, and others, a complete source of protein, plus they raise the good cholesterol and are good for your eyes. (Source: Australian Eggs) Eggs also act as a binding agent to hold the muffins together and help them rise. If you don’t tolerate eggs, you can substitute a chia or flax egg.

All together, these healthy ingredients make for a super nutritious hearty muffin that is a great way to start your day!

It’s the first day of a new year. A time for new starts, looking ahead towards the future, letting go of the past. I know a lot of us are SO ready to put 2020 behind us. It’s been a tough year for many, many people and we’ve lost a lot along the way. Thinking of the millions of people around the world who have suffered through the pandemic, it brings tears to my eyes.

Personally, I lucked out in 2020. Although I had to take a cut in pay for part of the year, I got to keep my awesome job, work from home, and hang out with my two favorite people: my adult kids. Instead of my normal outings to see friends, do yoga, and go to concerts and festivals, I stayed home and built a new garden, then poured my energy into ridding my forest of an invasive species (buckthorn) that I’d wanted to be rid of, but never had the time or energy to do it. Once I got started, I found that it felt amazing to save the oaks, mulberries, willows and ash trees that had been strangled and suffering from the plethora of buckthorn. I had lost some of the good trees along the way without even noticing, the buckthorn were so pervasive. I’m not sure how many of them I cleared out, but my yard is so much more spacious and I’m excited to plant some new good trees and watch them grow and thrive.

I did continue with yoga, but via Zoom. My son and I went for walks. The kids and I continued our weekly tradition of going to the coffee shop for coffee and bagels, but now instead of sitting at the coffee shop, we go through the drive through and bring our treats home to enjoy coffee on the couch together. These muffins are amazing with coffee, by the way, or with a cup of my ginger chai elixir. I’ve been enjoying them all week with my chai and SO looking forward to our next coffee excursion.

I adapted this recipe from The Schmidty Wife’s Pumpkin Bran Muffins. I didn’t have any wheat bran on hand, but I always have oat bran (to help lower my cholesterol), so I swapped out oat bran for wheat bran and voila! Pumpkin Oat Muffins. If you don’t have oat bran, you can substitute oatmeal, but give it a quick whirl in the food processor first to chop them up.

I also wanted to use some of the apples left over from my honey apple whiskey infusion, so I shredded up the apple slices in my little Ninja chopper and added some to the batter. Mmm mmm! (If you don’t have drunken apples on hand, it’s okay to use simple shredded apple. You can also stir in a Tablespoon of whiskey if you want that extra good flavor.)

I feel like these muffins are a great way to transition into the new year, letting go of sugar-laden treats we’ve been eating over the holidays and opting for a healthier treat, but still maintaining that cozy feeling of warmth to carry us through the chilly, bleak days of January. Baking is therapeutic in it’s own right and these pumpkin oat muffins fill the house with that lovely pumpkin spice scent as they bake. Every time I bite into one, I thank myself for making them. Just 164 calories per muffin and full of fiber, vitamin D, vitamin A, protein and iron, it’s filling and tasty enough to keep my little body satisfied until lunch.

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