Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Trying new recipes helps keep me excited about eating healthy.  I've found a lot of recipes lately and today I had the chance to make 2 new recipes, both were yummy & worth sharing with you! 

The first recipe is  Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins from The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook by Jillian Michaels.  I've been wanting to make these since I got the cookbook, but haven't been able to find frozen cranberries.  Either I'm looking in the wrong section or my grocery store doesn't carry them!  I was in KC a few weeks ago and stopped into Whole Foods and got a bag there so I could finally make the muffins!
They were super easy to make, even my hubby enjoyed them:) 

Mix pumpkin, maple syrup, olive oil, coconut milk & vanilla.

Combine the spices & flour

After you mix the pumpkin & flour mixture together, then you fold in the cranberries

Ta Da!  Warm & Ready to Eat!

I had some issues making the muffins to be honest.  The pictures of the "process" are from this morning... which was my 1st batch of muffins.  I put them in the oven, didn't reduce the temperature (because I didn't totally read thru the recipe first) and once I turned off the timer I totally forgot about them in the oven!  Needless to say instead of moist muffins we ended up with hockey pucks:(  I had to re-make them tonight because I was so curious to know if I was going to like them or not!  So, the pictures of the muffins are actually my 2nd try at 'em.  Oh, the joys of learning to cook!

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
1- 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used almond milk instead)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups white whole-wheat flour
1 T. aluminum-free baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
2 T. raw pepitas (I did not add these)

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven, then preheat the oven to 425.  Lightly spray a 12 cup muffin tin with olive oil or line with paper liners.
In a Large Bowl whisk together the pumpkin, maple syrup, olive oil, milk, and vanilla until well combined.
In a Seperate Bowl sift together the flour, baking powder & soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined.  Fold in the cranberries.
Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin tin.  If desired, sprinkle a few pepitas on top of each muffin.  Place the tin in the oven & reduce the oven temperature to 375.  Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.  (I only had to bake mine 20-25 minutes & they were done)  Let stand in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then place on cooling rack.  They can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or up to 2 months in the freezer.
*The recipe says it's makes 12 muffins; but that makes HUGE muffins so I made it into 24 muffins.  The following nutrition facts are based on 24 muffins.
125 Calories, 6 g. fat, 2.2 g. protein, 17 g. carbohydrate

The 2nd recipe I made today was from a post from last week for Healthified Chicken Minestrone Soup.  It is full of veggies, which is really hard for me to incorporate into my meals for some reason.  I love recipes that have lots of veggies so it's easier for me to get them in!!

Carrots, Onion, Celery, Green Beans... yum!

Dinner... and it was delicious and filling!

The serving size is 1 1/3 cups which is a lot of soup!  It has 210 calories, 2.5 g. of fat, 19 g. protein.  I am excited to have lunch for the next few days that is loaded with veggies, low in calories, and is super yummy!