Muffins are typically not a health food, but when you make sure each ingredient is as healthy and clean as possible, they can be! These pumpkin muffins are SO DELICIOUS yet SUPER healthy for you! These are made with healthy protein from collagen, and fiber from the whole grain oat flour. These muffins are dairy and gluten free yet turn out super moist & dense! Sweetened with all natural maple syrup, they have no added sugars so your blood sugar/insulin stays balanced. They can also be made vegan using a flax egg. Check out my Instagram post on how to make a flax egg here! The health benefits of each ingredient are listed below.

Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkins are a highly nutrient dense type of squash. They’re packed with fiber, potassium, Vitamin C, E and A (beta-carotene).The human body converts Beta-carotene into Vitamin A in the body, which helps prevent asthma, heart disease and may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. Pumpkin also helps protect against age related decline, helps to fight oxidative damage caused by free radicals, boost immunity, and support strong skin. Eating our vitamins is super important as the seasons change and the flu becomes more rampant. These pumpkin oatmeal muffins are a delicious and healthy way to include pumpkin into your diet. Make sure when buying pumpkin puree, it’s 100% pumpkin!

Collagen
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies, it can be found throughout our connective tissue and is what helps plump our skin from within. Collagen is also found in the connective tissues of animals, which is where collagen powder comes from. Compared to protein powder, it contains far fewer ingredients, and contains more protein for the same amount of calories. Adding protein to these muffins gives them an extra nutritional boost that you don’t taste or notice, and helps control hunger levels and cravings. Bakery muffins are full of sugar with no protein or fiber so they don’t satisfy your hunger and lead to blood sugar spikes, cravings and fat storage. We do have to be careful about heavy metals in collagen so using a quality brand that has tested for these and has a COA is important. I recommend Natural Force Collagen. In this recipe, using Unflavored collagen is recommended.

100% Maple Syrup
100% Maple syrup is what gives these muffins their sweetness. Maple syrup is all natural, as it’s harvested from the sap of trees. Because maple syrup isn’t full of fake ingredients, and actually contains antioxidants, manganese and zinc, it’s better for you than artificial sweeteners. It also doesn’t cause the same blood sugar spikes as sucrose (cane sugar), maltodextrin, caramel, and molasses, which are often used in baked goods because it falls lower on the glycemic index.

Coconut Oil

Oils are tricky because many kinds are heavily processed which removes any health benefits and actually can make them harmful to the body. Vegetable and Canola Oil are examples of this which is deceiving. They actually can cause inflammation in the body because they are made with ingredients that our bodies don’t recognize. Inflammation is proven to lead to all sorts of chronic diseases. This is why Coconut oil is a better choice when baking. Coconut Oil is made up of MCT (medium-chain triglycerides) that are directly sent to the liver to help create quick energy for our bodies and our brain. The fatty acids in coconut oil help our bodies burn fat, control our appetite, raise HDL cholesterol in our blood (the good kind you want to be high) and may protect against heart disease. In addition, the lauric acid in Coconut Oil produces monolaurin in our bodies which has been studied to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Tips before Starting:

Keeping the wet and dry ingredients separate until they are to be combined is super important when you bake. DO NOT add the ingredients in, one-by-one. First, you have to mix all of the dry ingredients, then you mix all of the wet ingredients, then you can combine! Gradually adding the dry to the wet, by layering small batches of the dry on top of the wet and gently use a spatula to combine, then add more dry until they are fully combined. This is a VERY important step! Over-mixing leads to hard muffins, not moist ones!

DIRECTIONS: Preheat Oven to 375°F. Spray Muffin Pan with Olive Oil Cooking Spray or line pan with Cupcake Liners. If using Old Fashioned Oats, puree 3 cups of the Oats in a blender or food processor until it looks like flour. Combine the Oat Flour, the pumpkin pie spice, the baking soda, collagen and sea salt. Mix until evenly combined. Again make sure to only mix the dry ingredients first before adding the wet!

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, almond milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract until evenly combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient mixture and stir gently until combined, making sure not to over-mix. Add the mix to the baking pan, this recipe yields 17-18 medium size muffins. You can fill each muffin tin to the top to make larger ones or use a Mini Muffin tin to make smaller ones. Bake for 15 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes if doing mini muffins. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack. They taste best served warm. Store for upto 3 days in a container, putting in the fridge is recommended after 1-2 days as they do not contain preservatives. Alternatively you can freeze once cooled. Let me know if you make these and send pictures of how they turn out. Enjoy!

*Microwaving the muffins before consuming for 15-20 seconds is recommended :) You won’t even need butter!