Category: Pumpkin

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

  • Servings: 12 Muffins
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

I was looking for a muffin recipe that would be healthy and filling. A good go to snack for diabetics. This is what I came up with.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup of maple syrup or honey (I used honey)
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup of milk of choice (I used almond milk)
  • 1 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 2 tsps of pumpkin spice blend
  • 1 tsp of baking soda
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1-3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup of old fashioned oats, plus more to sprinkle on top
  • 2 tsp of raw sugar for a sweet crunch (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 and grease muffin tin or use liners (I used silicon liners).
  2. In a large bowl, beat the apple sauce and honey together with a whisk.
  3. Add the eggs and beat well.
  4. Add the pumpkin puree, milk, pumpkin spice blend, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt.
  5. Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined, a few lumps are ok.
  6. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with about a tablespoon of oats followed by a light sprinkle of raw sugar if you like.
  7. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
  8. Place on cooling rack and let cool for a couple of hours. They taste better for some reason.

Nutritional facts per serving

  • Calories 131
  • Fat 2.3 g
  • Sugar 9.5 g
  • Carbohydrates 25.7 g
  • Protein 3.4 g
  • Fibre 3.2 g

You have a few options, if you don’t have apple sauce, or prefer not to use apple sauce, you can sub for extra virgin olive oil. You can make this recipe vegan – use maple syrup, flax eggs and non-dairy milk. You can do some add-ins like chocolate chips, chopped nuts or dried cranberries or even crystallized ginger. You would do this at the stage where you combine wet and dry ingredients.

Pumpkin spice, not everyone has some premade, if you don’t it goes like this. (1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice or cloves). You can also substitute the flour to white all purpose flour which makes this lighter and less dense.

As you see there are so many options for you, all you have to do is let your imagination go, have fun and make it your own.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

  • Servings: 8 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Who says pumpkin pie is only good at Thanksgiving. Well not I, that is for sure. The only thing that has stopped me in the past, is the calories and sugar content. Well, well, well, I found a recipe in the Canadian Diabetes book that reduced the calories dramatically and quite a bit of the sugar. It is still a treat.

Ingredients

  • 1 14oz can of pumpkin puree
  • ½ cup of sugar
  • ½ tsp of salt
  • ½ tsp of ground ginger
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp of ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp of ground cloves
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 13 oz can evaporated skim milk

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, sugar, salt, and spices.
  2. Stir in the slightly beaten eggs and mix well.
  3. Add the evaporated milk (shake can before opening) and stir until smooth.
  4. Pour into a lightly greased glass pie plate (this recipe works best in a glass pie plate instead of metal)
  5. Bake in preheat oven of 400 for about 40 minutes or until knife inserted near the center of the pie comes out clean.
  6. Let cool and serve.

Nutritional facts per serving

  • Calories 107
  • Fat 1.3 g
  • Sugar 19.3 g
  • Carbohydrates 21.1 g
  • Protein 5.1 g
  • Fibre 0.5 g

Make sure to use pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling or the spices will be way off. I made mine with homemade pumpkin puree which is thinner so my pie was a little wet. But ohhh, the taste. Cutting the pie in 8 pieces is a nice size. You almost don’t notice that there is no crust. It would be nice but it is not necessary and when you think it would double the calories and add an extra 6 sugars if you are using graham cracker crust, I say no crust please.

To be honest even the pie crust I have on this blog, Sebreena’s pie crust, would add a little less sugar than the graham cracker crust but still adds about 75 calories. This is a great alternative if you are really looking to cut down on the fat, calories and sugar but still crave that sweet taste. I found the spice mixture better than pumpkin pie spice mix but here is where you have fun and make it your own.

Pumpkin Soup

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Pumpkin Soup

  • Servings: 8 1 cup portions
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Is there ever a wrong time for pumpkin? What you will find here is a soup that is great as is, or can be used as a base. The puree I used was one I froze from a pumpkin I cooked, you can use canned puree (just be sure not to use pie filling)

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 large chopped onion
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 4 cups of pumpkin puree
  • 6 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp of cajun spice
  • 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat
  2. Add onion and cook until tender.
  3. Add garlic cook for approximately 2 minutes.
  4. Add puree, broth and spices.
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 60 minutes.
  6. You can either serve or if you want smoother, use your blender to puree it even more.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 107
  • Fat 1.8 g
  • Sugar 3 g
  • Carbohydrates 11.6 g
  • Protein 5.1 g
  • Fibre 3.3 g

This is an easy soup that is both nutritious and low calorie. It can be served as an appetizer or as a main course. As a main course, use two servings. You can serve it with a nice sunflower and flax seed bread (see recipe), white bread (see recipe) or country biscuits (see recipe). You can use this as a base for a vegetable soup. You can thicken it with a little flour and use it as a sauce. So basically, have fun and make it your own.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Cookies are made to be fun. We all know they are an indulgence. No one can say, “I will die if I don’t have a cookie” but we all know we want one. Who says that cookies can’t be good and good for you. Below is a recipe that is fun and tastes good. In the notes below you will see modifications for lighter cookies and fat free reduced cookies. I will even give you the breakdown on the nutritional value differences. The first part is the full-on recipe.

Overview

  • Prep time 20 minutes and 3-4 hours refrigeration of dough
  • Cook time 12 minutes per batch totalling 48 min
  • Makes 48 cookies

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups of all purpose flour (I use unbleached)
  • 1 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp of baking soda
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1.5 cups of sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of powdered sugar (icing sugar)

Directions

  1. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.
  2. Beat sugar and butter with mixer on medium high speed, then blend in pumpkin, egg and vanilla until incorporated.
  3. Gradually mix in flour and dry ingredients.
  4. Refrigerate dough for 3-4 hours.
  5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non stick baking spray.
  7. Scoop dough into one inch balls. (I use a small 2 ounce scoop, works well, worth the money) Roll in icing sugar, place dough balls on baking sheet.
  8. Bake for roughly 12 minutes.
  9. Remove from baking sheet to a cooling rack. When completely cool, store cookies in an airtight container. On the counter they will keep 3-4 days, in fridge for about a week.

Nutritional facts per Cookie

  • Calorie 69
  • Fat 2.45 g
  • Carb 11.8 g
  • Sugar 6.4 g
  • Fiber 0.4 g
  • Protein 1.4g

That is the full version, full fat, full sugar. Still not bad 2 cookies is only 140 cals. And they are good source of vit A. 

Now if you omit rolling them in icing sugar, you reduce, per cookie, the calories by 8.1, the carbs by 2.1 and the sugar by 2.1. Now for the reduced calorie and fat but leaving in the icing sugar. Omit the butter and replace with same quantity of unsweetened apple sauce. Cook for 1 minute less. 

Nutritional facts per Cookie

  • Calorie 53
  • Fat 0.5 g
  • Carb 11.8 g
  • Sugar 6.4 g
  • Fiber 0.4 g
  • Protein 1.4g

You can still omit the icing sugar for a plain version again deducting the calories and carbs and sugar. It really depends on your taste. All I will say is have fun and make it your own.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

The Sunshine Inn Blog2 Comments

Pumpkin Cheesecake

  • Servings: 8 good size servings. Can be stretched to 12.
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

I like pumpkin, I like cheesecake. Why wouldn’t they be good together? My better half doesn’t mind pumpkin as long as it’s not overwhelming. Well this recipe fits the bill. I’ve modified the original recipe to reduce calories and fat.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp of unsweetened apple sauce
  • 2 packages of light cream cheese (500g total, or 2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1 tsp of vanilla
  • 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a bowl mix the graham crackers and applesauce until well moistened. Then put in a 9’’ pie plate. Press out evenly. If you press too hard the crust will be very tough.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix until well creamed.
  4. In a smaller bowl, take 1 cup of the cream cheese mixture and add pumpkin puree and cinnamon and mix well.
  5. Pour cream cheese batter into pie crust.
  6. Gently pour pumpkin batter over cream cheese batter.
  7. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes
  8. Refrigerate 3 hour or more before serving.

Nutrition Per Serving (1 out of 8 slices)

  • Calories 245
  • Sugar 21 g
  • Carbohydrates 27 g
  • Protein 5.9 g
  • Fiber 1.0 g
  • Fat 12 g

You really have to make sure that you serve this cold. This was well received. You can add a little cinnamon if you like or sub it for pumpkin spice. You can not use fat free cream cheese. It doesn’t cook as well. You can sprinkle some cinnamon on top if you like. Or if you want a little crunch, you can sprinkle brown sugar on over the top. Be careful for the calories and sugar content. If you don’t have concerns for either have fun and make it your own.