Pumpkin Muffins...for under 80 calories!

I fed these muffins to my husband, who loves calories, fat, wheat and dairy, and he was shocked that they were low-calorie, low-fat, gluten-free, and dairy-free. Ha, I totally got him! Taste for yourself; they are crazy addictive. My pre-schooler ate six of them behind my back (I guess it's fair since he helped me make them). I know that it's pumpkin mania right now, but these are a must try. Plus, you can make these in 30 minutes flat.

E.H. FITNESS PERFECT PUMPKIN MUFFINS 

Yields 18 regular muffins, 36 mini muffins

(10 min prep, 18 min bake time)

What you need:

• non-stick cooking spray (or muffin tin liners)
• 1 cup old fashion oats made into flour (don’t freak out…just put them in your blender/food processor/magic bullet/etc. for like 10 seconds. Congrats, you just made your own oat flour)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup old fashion oats
• 1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup unsweetened, original flavor almond milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup

What to do: 

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients (oat flour that you made, sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, old fashion oats), then mix in all wet ingredients. Tough, right? Fill your muffin tins ½ full (like ¼ cup for regular sized muffins and about 2 TBSP for mini muffins).  Bake normal sized muffins for 15-18 minutes and mini-muffins for 10-12 minutes. They are done when a toothpick comes out goop-free. Cool before diving in.

Here are the crazy-unbelievable nutrition facts…but don’t get carried away; the entire batch will still set you back over 1,300 calories. But for one normal sized muffin: 76 calories, 15 carbs, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram fat and 2 grams protein. For the mini ones: 38 calories, 7 carbs, 0.5 grams fiber, 0.5 grams fat and 1 gram protein. 

ENJOY!