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My Submission: Buckwheat Pumpkin Muffins
If you’re sick of pumpkin recipes, skip this part. I, however, love this time of year. I eat pumpkin right out of the can or roasted right out of the oven with nothing on it. I didn’t always appreciate the natural flavors and textures of food but after 6 years of eating gluten-free and sugar-free it now comes naturally.
This has also been a key to my long-term weight loss. My baked goods don’t have to be packed full of sweetness for me to enjoy them.
On to the recipe – how is this healthier? Well, it’s low in oil, it uses higher protein flours, and it’s chocked full of pumpkin. I won’t go over the fabulous health benefits of pumpkin again. Buckwheat is not wheat – it’s gluten-free and has many health benefits too, and has been related to lowered risks of high blood pressure and cholesterol. It’s also high in fiber – and on a gluten-free diet it’s so important to include healthy fibers.
This is part of my endless quest for a higher-fiber, healthy breakfast muffin. I eat it with a hard boiled egg and I feel great. This muffin was not intended to be very sweet. I like to spread it with a little apple butter or creme fraiche.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups high protein flour blend
- ¾ cup buckwheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon good quality ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup agave nectar
- ¼ cup 1% milk
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ teaspoon orange zest grated on a microplane
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a standard muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Sift flour blend, buckwheat flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, allspice, and cloves into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, agave, orange juice, eggs, oil, and orange zest. Dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until combined, about 10 strokes, making sure to scrape bottoms and side. Then, fold mixture 5 to 8 times or until clumps of flour no longer show.
- Using a spring-release ice cream scoop, put a heaping scoop of batter into each muffin tin. Using wet fingers, smooth the tops if necessary. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until they test clean with a toothpick. Remove and place on wire rack for 5 minutes. Then, remove from muffin tins and allow to cool completely on a paper towel lined wire rack.
Featured Blogger: Linda, The Gluten-Free Homemaker
I’ve considered Linda a friend since I first started blogging. She found my tiny little blog when it was only a month old and invited me to join her Wednesday blog carnival, What Can I Eat That’s Gluten-Free? I haven’t missed a week since. If you’re a gluten-free blogger I wouldn’t miss a Wednesday at her place either. Here’s her story:
As a young wife, I enjoyed cooking. Over the years, three boys were born and I learned to make healthy economical food to feed our family. Then in 2000 I was diagnosed with celiac disease and learned that I couldn’t eat wheat, rye or barley. My first reaction was relief that we had discovered what was causing my non-stop weight loss, frustrating brain fog, and debilitating general weakness. My second reaction was “What will I eat!?!” Rather than get depressed or discouraged by my diet change, I took it as a challenge. I have truly loved learning to cook and bake gluten free.
At that time, there was not as much information, nor as many gluten free cookbooks available. I went to the library and found several of Bette Hagman’s Gluten Free Gourmet books. They were a life saver. I started with her recipes and began branching out from there. I did not put my entire family on a gluten-free diet, but everything I made was gluten free. My family loves the food I make for them. Some of our favorite dinners were discovered in my first year of being gluten free as I searched for ways to replace the meals I couldn’t have anymore. I have learned to bake desserts that are at least as good as their wheat counterparts and have held the philosophy that gluten-free is delicious and therefore, I will not apologize to anyone for serving gluten-free food.
In August 2008, I started my blog with a desire to help people who are just starting out on a gluten-free diet and trying to find their way, as well as those who have been doing it a little while but are looking for new inspiration and recipes.
This week’s give-away: 2 subscriptions to my favorite magazine – Eating Well
It’s not sugar-free or gluten-free but so many of the recipes are naturally – and each recipe is packed with healthy food choices. I get tons of magazines but this is the one I always read.
To enter:
- Link a recipe/post that fits the Slightly Induglent theme (healthier in some way) and include a link back to this post.
- Leave a comment below.
- Tweet about this give-away and leave a separate comment telling me you did.
- Share about this give-away on your blog and link back here, then leave a separate comment telling me you did.
This give-away will be open until Sunday, October 25th at 8 pm CST.
I am looking forward to see what Slightly Indulgent foods your cooking this week. Please tell us who you are and what you’re cooking . For example, I would enter: Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free – Buckwheat Pumpkin Muffins. And, I always appreciate the link back to this post.
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Lauren
posted on October 25, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Okay, these look goood. Very very good. I like that they’re not a super sweet use of pumpkin (although I’m not opposed to that =D), its a nice change.
Love seeing Linda featured here too!
[Reply]
Linda
posted on October 25, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Your pumpkin muffins look great. I like using muffins without much sweetener for breakfast and adding a protein like you do. I have some whole buckwheat to mill, but haven’t used it yet.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
@Linda, How do you mill flour? I wanted to look into that but wasn’t sure where to start.
I’ve sprouted buckwheat groats and had them toasted for breakfast. They make a fabulous start to the day.
[Reply]
Linda Reply:
October 26th, 2009 at 7:18 am
@Amy, I wrote about how I mill flour in these posts. Maybe I should repost them in the near future.
http://www.glutenfreehomemaker.com/2008/08/milling-your-own-gluten-free-flour.html
http://www.glutenfreehomemaker.com/2008/09/milling-whole-grain-sorghum.html
[Reply]
Iris
posted on October 25, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Those look great! I love the color!
[Reply]
Alea
posted on October 26, 2009 at 12:41 am
I have never cooked with buckwheat before. I will have to look into it.
[Reply]
Ali @ The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
posted on October 26, 2009 at 12:57 am
Amy, I like the idea of pumpkin and buckwheat. You know I have found that you do not need to use xanthan gum when using buckwheat flour as the main ingredient. I make buckwheat muffins using applesauce, I wonder if I can replace it for pumpkin puree? I bet it would work!
Please don’t enter me for the magazine subscription…we already get that one for free! They started sending it to our business a year or two ago. I hardly ever have time to read it anyways. Save my entry for someone else! This is a great giveaway for sure!
-Ali
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
October 26th, 2009 at 7:50 am
@Ali @ The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen, There’s also some garbanzo bean flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch in there – would you still leave the xanthan gum out?
Glad you think Eating Well is a great magazine, too.
[Reply]
Ali @ The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen Reply:
October 26th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
@Amy, Amy, I think with your recipe you probably need it. I use 2.5 cups B. flour + 1/2 cup tapioca in my muffins. Here is the link where I talk about xanthan: http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2009/06/carrot-raisin-buckwheat-muffins.html
[Reply]
Hallie
posted on October 26, 2009 at 7:46 am
These look great! I love the flavor of buckwheat. Also love the flavor of pumpkin. The two together must be divine.
[Reply]
Kim, The Food Allergy Coach
posted on October 26, 2009 at 7:49 am
I went with a buckwheat recipe as well. I’m newly discovering how tasty it is, along with all the nutritional benefits. I’m in love with the combination of honey and buckwheat…
[Reply]
Kim, The Food Allergy Coach
posted on October 26, 2009 at 7:52 am
from my blog post today which will be up shortly: “Today is Slightly Indulgent Monday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free. Be sure to check it out for delicious recipe ideas! This week, Amy is also giving away two subscriptions to her favorite magazine, Eating Well.”
[Reply]
Kim, The Food Allergy Coach
posted on October 26, 2009 at 8:39 am
Tweet “Amy is giving away a mag subscription to Eating Well, plus check out yummy recipes! http://bit.ly/24qocm“
[Reply]
Liz@HoosierHomemade
posted on October 26, 2009 at 8:44 am
We love pumpkin at our house too! These look yummy, as always!
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz
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Chris @ Earth Friendly Goodies
posted on October 26, 2009 at 10:06 am
Tis the season for pumpkin (yum yum) and eggnog hmm, I wonder how pumpkin eggnog muffins would be?
Thanks for stopping by Earth Friendly Goodies Amy, looks like I may have found another blog to visit again…
[Reply]
Cassie
posted on October 26, 2009 at 4:26 pm
you can use any of the recipes here: http://www.authenticfoods.com/recipes
[Reply]
Lauren
posted on October 26, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I shared about your giveaway on my blog (in the linked post) =D.
[Reply]
gfe--gluten free easily
posted on October 26, 2009 at 9:40 pm
My entry this week is a crustless pumpkin pie. First of all, it’s healthier because there’s no crust, so no fat via oil or butter. If you use gluten-free flour in the recipe, it’s also gluten free. And, if you use dairy-free milk, it’s dairy free as well. So lots of options with this one. Made the pie in the photos yesterday … it’s evaporating quicker than the milk the regular version contains.
Those muffins are such a neat color. I love the taste of buckwheat, but seem to have an intolerance to it for the time being.
How great to see Linda featured! I love her attitude … and her recipes.
The giveaway prize looks like a winner for sure! So much good stuff here this week–once again. Thanks, Amy!
Shirley
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 7:15 am
@gfe–gluten free easily, I love the crustless version – a great idea all around. Simpler, too.
It’s neat to see that you are aware of what your body needs at certain times – I have phases like that too. Sometimes I just have to let a food go for a while and add it back in later if I can.
[Reply]
Tiffany S.
posted on October 26, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Just when I think you can’t get any more fabulous, there you go hitting us with all your charitable work. You and Joe rock! Keep up the good work!
[Reply]
cecedon
posted on October 26, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Amy, I feel like I just won the lottery having found you! I found you from the gluten free post. I have recently decided I need to start trying to get sugar out of my kids diet and have just started trying to substitute agave and maple syrup for sugar when I have the time to experiment. How lucky and I to find you. My girls and I haven’t had gluten in almost three years due to really high cholesterol (8 and 7 is much too young for high cholesterol and they are very thin and active little girls so I knew it had to be diet, we improved it 30% in 5 months and it’s improved a bit more since then, hence the thought that sugar should go next!). Anyway, glad to have found you… The st. judes cookbook is a great idea too!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 7:12 am
@cecedon, Thank you so much. I’m so glad that you found me, too. I haven’t heard of the connection between gluten and high cholesterol before but I’d love to know more. I know that our diets impact our health hugely. I applaud you for working so hard to keep your family happy – I know it’s hard work!
If you didn’t see, we’re doing a Holiday Food Fest on Thursdays in November & December – you can find the info here. I’ll be posting recipes with agave and there will be many other bloggers – not all gluten-free and sugar-free, but they’ll share their ideas too.
If there are any recipes you’d like to see, let me know. I try to help with requests.
Also – some other blogs that don’t always use sugar: nourisingmeals.com, elanaspantry.com, gluten-dairy-sugarfree.com.
[Reply]
Chelsey
posted on October 26, 2009 at 11:19 pm
{…This Roasted Tomato post is linked on Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Mondays at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. I’m in the running for a magazine subscription to Eating Well. Check out her site for fun fabulous gluten free recipes!…}
[Reply]
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
posted on October 27, 2009 at 9:51 am
I love both pumpkin and buckwheat! Such a great combination!
[Reply]
Trish
posted on October 27, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Ooooh, your muffins look great. I haven’t had a lot of success with buckwheat – but haven’t used it again since I’ve learned more about baking. These tempt me to enter the buckwheat world again.
Looks like a great round-up this week!
[Reply]
Ellen Allard
posted on October 27, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I love combining pumpkin and chocolate – if you have a moment, please take a look at my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini-Bundt Cakes at my blog: http://ow.ly/wUqs. They are delicious! Keep up the good work!
~Ellen
[Reply]
Sandy Gillett
posted on November 3, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I made these today Amy and they are very good. They are slightly sweet and I appreciate that, the spices are perfect and so is the texture. The hint of orange is a delectable touch. They are a perfect breakfast muffin. They’re pretty too.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
@Sandy Gillett, I’m glad that you like them. I froze the extra and have been eating them at breakfast with some apple butter.
[Reply]
Sally Hall
posted on November 15, 2009 at 7:23 pm
HI – these pumpkin muffins look great! I was wondering about the high protein flour? I’m now sensitive to rice (i’ve used it too much in the past for gluten free!) and I’ve tried pumpkin muffins with almond flour… so, any suggestions of other combo’s I could use for this recipe as a High Protein flour?
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
November 15th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
@Sally Hall, Have you tried quinoa, amaranth, millet, or sorghum? They’re all higher protein – quinoa and amaranth have stronger flavors, though, and I don’t think they’d blend with garbanzo bean flour.
[Reply]
Kelsey
posted on September 8, 2010 at 3:00 am
LOVE pumpkin! Will definitely be trying this recipe. However – I notice that a lot of your recipes use agave nectar. I just thought I should mention that this is not a healthy sugar alternative. Agave nectar is SUPER high in fructose (higher than high fructose corn syrup) which is the type of sugar that is most harmful. A better option would be honey, which is very easy for the body to digest, or a grade B maple syrup. Just a thought! I know everyone thinks agave is a great sugar alternative, but we’ve been fooled!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
@Kelsey, I love pumpkin, too. It’s one of my favorite fall foods. You might like this article. Just some food for thought. Hugs!
[Reply]
kathryn
posted on April 6, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Your muffins look and sound so tasty (and good for you). Would you be so kind as to link up at Muffin Monday and share your recipe with our readers? Thanks!
http://www.talkingdollarsandcents.net/muffin-monday-oatmeal-muffins
[Reply]
down east cook
posted on October 20, 2011 at 11:17 am
wow, just found your blog this morning, and I love it, will return often to catch up on reading and some recipes. thanks for all the great comments about the gardening. After many years on a farm with a large garden I find it frustrating that having moved to a suburb, I cannot seem to grow anything. Last year I tried to grow more of what I eat, but between the wet weather and a few other factors, was not successful. Now, planning my next year’s project for getting good veggies and herbs, etc. Thanks again for your blog.. I will be back.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:39 am
@down east cook, I have the same problem growing veggies where we live. We’re in the suburbs and it’s never really worked out for us.
Thanks for stopping by and saying hi! So glad you found my blog, too.
Hugs,
Amy
[Reply]
caresse
posted on December 1, 2011 at 8:44 am
made these for breakfast today. they are very good and bordering on savory. thanks for sharing this great recipe!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
December 4th, 2011 at 10:58 am
@caresse, I’m glad you like them!! I would agree that the buckwheat definitely lends a savory flavor.
Hugs,
Amy
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