happy monday everyone! i hope you all had lovely weekends and are feeling ready to take on the week. i worked all weekend but somehow managed to be productive and have some fun, so it was definitely solid.
i’ve been resisting posting too many pumpkin recipes, or even making too many. that’s why this year i limited myself to one can of pumpkin. one can means fewer pumpkin creations and less pumpkin goodness, yes, but it also means i have to eat less of them which is a good thing. i swear sometimes having a blog makes me eat so much more than i should! i make full-sized recipes, which only i end up eating, leading to so much food! needless to say i eat more sweets than i should ;)
so when faced with 1/2 a can of pumpkin left after making my no-bake pumpkin mousse cake on thanksgiving, i decided muffins would be the perfect treat to make. not only are pumpkin muffins one of my favourites, but muffins freeze so well! meaning i could freeze most of the batch and not feel obligated to eat the entire batch within a week.
i made these at my parent’s house so the ingredients were made up of things i had left there after moving and wanted to use up. using what’s available forces you to get a little creative and these turned out so well, you would never be able to tell i was just trying to “clear pantry space” for my parents.
that being said, they have significantly more pantry space now than when i lived there. i guess not having to stock gluten-free flours and pasta in addition to their gluten-filled versions as well as ridiculous quantities of sunwarrior protein powders, chia seeds and various other superfoods helps too. there was space, something i’m seriously lacking in my new place. not that i’m complaining- can one really have too many superfoods ;)
holy side-tracked. back to the muffins- these muffins are delicious, healthy and sweet, everything you would want in a muffin. they aren’t gluten-free since i used some of my favourite kingston-local whole grain spelt flour to make them, but i bet you could substitute your favourite gluten-free blend with good results!
if you can have some gluten though, there are lots of reasons why spelt flour is a delicious and healthful alternative to wheat flour:
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deep nutty flavour that works really well in baked goods
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low in gluten
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has a broader spectrum of nutrients compared to more inbred grains
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excellent source of vitamin b2 manganese, copper and zinc
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higher in protein then wheat
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easier to digest than wheat- the gluten in spelt is water-soluble unlike wheat gluten which does not break down in water. this means it is degraded by heat and easily broken down by mixing action- this means chewing easily breaks down the gluten which allows your digestive enzymes and juices to work on the surface of the food. wheat forms a bolus in the digestive system, making it difficult to digest
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the water-solubleness also makes spelt nice to bake with- no danger of over-mixing!
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fewer digestive and inflammatory issues than with what- easier to digest and doesn’t contain some of the enzyme inhibitors wheat does which prevent complete digestion
so give spelt flour a try! you many find you feel better when eating it for many reasons above. plus it’s pretty darn delicious. bonus points for fresh-ground local spelt!
these make a great breakfast on-the-go or snack. especially tasty warm and spread with coconut oil/butter!
pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip muffins (vegan, wheat-free, refined sugar-free)
inspired by these cinnamon pumpkin muffins from healthy happy life.
ingredients (12 muffins)
dry
- 1 3/4 cup whole spelt flour
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
wet
- 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water, mixed well and set aside to gel)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
instructions
preheat the over to 350f. grease a 12 muffin tin, or use muffin liners.
mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and all the wet ingredients in a medium bowl. add the wet to the dry and mix until combined. fold in the chocolate chips.
spoon into prepared muffin tins and bake for 22 minutes, until golden brown and knife inserted comes out clean!
all spread with coconut oil, ready to devour!
I am sumitting this post to Wellness Weekends!
have a lovely day everyone!
oh and you still have a couple days to submit to healthy vegan friday, so definitely head over if you have a vegan recipe to share!
I just found your site through Wendy’s site. I would love to try these muffins. I never stock chocolate chips, however, I have a large jar of carob powder, which I use frequently.
Do you think that I could substitute the carob powder for the chocolate chips and if so, would it be a one-for-one trade?
Thanks. You have a lot of recipes that I would like to try.
Do you have carob chips? If you are looking to use carob powder, I would sub out some of the flour instead with the carob powder. If you are using chips though, yes a 1:1 trade would work wonderfully!
Tried these and they were amazing! I just love the flavour pumpkin gives.
So glad you liked them :) Pumpkin muffins are definitely the best!
I love baking with Spelt Flour!
I feel the same way about bakingmaking so many treats – I try really hard to create halved recipes, it never occured to me to freeze some of my baked goods – I need to try that!!
Your muffins look so moist and full of goodness – nice one Gabby :)
Oh goodness definitely start freezing some stuff! It’s great for when life gets busy and you have no time to bake but could REALLY use a muffin ;)
Thanks my dear!
Mmmm these muffins look divine Gabby! I’d love to try them…. I can’t get spelt flour in my town, boo hoo :( Such a great way to use the other half of your can of pumpkin!! :D
Thanks you Heather :) I miss my easy source of spelt flour in Kingston! But oh well, so much more available to me here than in Kingston, so good and bad!
Oh my gosh, these look heavenly! Pumpkin muffins are definitely one of my favorites and I love the spelt flour in these! These are totally happening, for sure. :-)
Thanks so much Kristy! I hope you love them as much as I did :)
Omgosh, too funny I made pumpkin muffins yesterday too from being shacked up from Sandy. I did Gf, SF and they def did not turn out as good as yours I bet!
Aww I hope you were ok during Sandy! I think baking is an excellent use of that time :)
I am really in to spelt flour at the moment, so this is a well timed recipe! I also relate to the challenges of making recipes when there aren’t lots of people to eat the results. I have got good at freezing things, and/or making half recipes, especially during this vegan mofo month!
I can imagine all you MoFoers are just overflowing with food right now! Well you are stocked for many lazy nights to come, which you definitely deserve :)
These sound great, Gabby! I’ve been able to eat spelt without a problem, thankfully!
Thanks Raechel! That’s so good you can eat spelt! It was the first transition I made when I was eliminating wheat. I gave it up for a while to go completely gluten-free, but have been reintroducing it and I’m so happy I’ve been able to enjoy it too :)
Those look so good and moist!
Thanks Veronica! They definitely are :)
These look so so good! My mouth is watering.
<3 Melissa
wildflwrchild.blogspot.com
Thanks Melissa!
What a timely post, Gabby! I was planning to make a chocolate cake for my co-workers, but couldn’t justify a raw dessert for so many people (and without a fridge)… so I opted for the next best thing: spelt flour! I hope it turns out ok!
Btw, Rob is great for many things and one is to eat the things I don’t like! ;)
Next get-together, we make meals we both share as leftovers. :)
Oh I hope your cake turned out good as well! Definitely more practical for a work thing.
Haha I really need to get a man in my house to eat all my mistakes/extras ;)
I like that idea! As long as we can make dessert too ;)
Deal! :)
Oh girl, that last photo with the coconut butter is totally making me melt. Try testing 6 batches of smoked coconut gouda for more than a girl can eat. I ended up freezing small portions for mac & cheez for the kids. Way too much food around here!
WOW that is a lot of gouda, I feel your pain! Good think you have some kiddies to help you out ;)
I’m eating my very first (roasted) kabocha right now, and it is blowing my mind. The texture!! So I’m imagining this with pureed kabocha, and lo! It sounds good. :P
Oooh I only just tried those last fall and have one in my kitchen as I type, all ready to be stuffed and roasted. These would be AMAZING with kabocha :) So glad you like it too!
Looking delicious Gabby! I hear on the making food/eating food issue too, it can be tough! Hope you have a great week! XO
Glad to hear I’m not the only one! Hope you are well dear :)
I definitely love baking with spelt – I use it interchangeably with sprouted whole wheat flour. Both of those rock. I recently got some graham flour too that I’m gonna start using more as well.
Awesome! I wish I could find sprouted wheat flour, maybe I should make my own. Because I definitely tolerate that better than regular wheat. Hmm you’ve given me a great idea ;)
These look really good, will be filing with all the others I will be trying. Thank you for sharing ( ;
Thanks Debbie, I hope you like them :)
I totally agree!! I eat way more now that I have a blog – and it’s really bad when I need to make several versions of something to get it just right :-). Thank goodness for my husband who will dutifully eat any leftovers he can find. I also agree about pumpkin – I’ve got a few recipes coming up – but I’ve tried not to go too crazy!
You’re lucky you have someone to help you with leftovers! It would make life so much easier/free up freezer space ;) I’m glad I’m not the only one who eats more!
I usually make a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip quick bread from VegWeb, but I am SO EXCITED to try your recipe. The VegWeb one is delicious but not nearly as healthful as yours. And thanks for all the great facts about spelt! I’ve been using it recently but didn’t realize just how great it is!
Wow thanks Bethany, I hope you like them :). I find since I end up eating so much food, I HAVE to make them healthy!
Wow Gabby these look great and sound perfect! It’s a good thing I don’t have spelt flour because I feel like I’d have 2 dozen muffins laying around since I definitely would have made these even though I made a batch yesterday! ;) Hopefully the half can of pumpkin I had left survives this stupid hurricane so I can make these! Yum!!
Haha aww you’re so cute! I think that all the time with recipes on blogs- if I had all the ingredients, and of course the time, I would be surrounded by food and dessert endlessly! Good luck this week with the storm my dear, stay safe!! Update us :)
these look so great gabby! i made something similar (without the chips and not vegan/gf) this weekend, but i love the nice healthy twist these have.
thanks Sara! I wish I still had some of these, they might be gone now…. ;)
Oh my wow, I need an endless supply of these in my handbag when I’m out and about, please! :-) Loving the coconut oil spread idea, too – I’m yet to try that but am guessing it’s lovely and sweet, mmmmmm….
I would happily oblidge, if only we lived closer! Yes coconut oil is a fantastic replacement for a buttery type spread, and you can always sprinkle a little sea salt too if you are missing that slightly salty flavour of vegan spreads!
Mmmm you don’t go halfway when it comes to muffins do you? :D
Cheers
CCU
Haha never halfway on anything ;)
Yummo! I love a good pumpkin-cinnamon-chocolate combo :) I haven’t had spelt in ages, thanks for the reminder, I used to eat spelt flakes in lieu of oats all the time – you’re right, such a great flavour PLUS an admirable nutritional profile to boot!
I’ve never actually had spelt flakes, I’m intrigued though! I’ll have to pick some up when I’m running low on oats, which might be a while lol. Thanks for the tip ;)
oh yum!! in austria you can get spelt bread and pastry in every bakery! its so popular here and so easy to get! i bake a lot with spelt too, just grew up always using half wheat and hald spelt in cakes and now actually do ALL spelt mixed with buckwheat, quinoa flour etc- w hatever i have on hand!
You are starting to see it more here, but oh man I wish they had it everywhere! So lucky! I am obsessed with the stuff and while I try to cut back on gluten as much as possible, spelt always makes a regular occurence :)