August ends and September comes in a flash. As much as we like to hold on to the last moments of summer days, inevitably, the calendar turns to fall. Even in California, without dramatic colored leaves dropping or frosty mornings moving in, harvest season arrives.

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I would imagine that one of the most used phrases in October is “I can’t believe it’s already October”. Thanks to American’s affinity for early Holiday planning and decorating, it comes earlier every year.

Before you can blink, you’re driving past ginormous pop up costume warehouses. And everything is pumpkin flavored from lattes to pasta to Oreo’s. But let’s be real, who doesn’t like pumpkin spice lattes?

As the old adage goes,” if you can’t fight em, join em”! So here goes one of my standard fall favorites. Nothing says fall like pumpkins! So besides making scary faces on them and toasting seeds.

Let’s talk about muffins. Simple, quick, portable and a great venue to sneak in lots of protein, fiber and nutrients. You can pack them with lots of great pantry stock in your kitchen. And you can substitute almost all of the ingredients for vegetarian, vegan, higher protein (I still make these protein/flour free muffins) or whatever suits your dietary bent.

My big sister is otherwise known as The Muffin Queen. She has told me for years about her secret weapon to get her kids to eat extra protein, fruits and vegetables. By baking them into her muffins and quick bread. Also in her pasta sauces, but that’s for another article, another day.

She’ll say, if you throw in chocolate chips, even her pickiest eater will inhale whatever bread or muffin is delivering. Also a little bit of chocolate just makes the heart grow warmer.

With all of our on the go lifestyles, muffins just make sense to keep on hand at all times. Heading out for work, running errands, or taking a break with a hot cup of tea, muffins are a satisfying treat.

Two of my favorite fruits, pumpkin and banana. Did you know that a pumpkin is technically a berry? (*affiliate links) Not only is it a fruit, the pumpkin is a heavy hitter when it comes to nutritious value.

Pumpkin has a wide range of nutrients and health benefits.

Here’s a list of them according to an article in Medical News Today:

• One of the best sources of Beta Carotene giving it the bright orange color. Beta Carotene converts in your body as Vitamin A is an antioxidant and can lower risk of heart and lung disease.
• Known to help reduce the risk of cancer.
• Helps protect against asthma and increase lung health.
• Fiber, potassium and Vitamin C can reduce high blood pressure. Also these support healthy weight balance.
• Supports eye health and reduces eye disease risk.
• Gives a healthy boost to hair, skin and energy levels
• Has shown reduction in blood pressure, lower blood sugar levels and potential to help control diabetes.

Bananas, the perfect food, if you find yourself stranded on an island. Although they seem basic to our American diet, bananas are no less loaded with nutritional value.

• High in fiber and resistant starch which helps slow digestion and makes you feel more full. So it is a helpful tool for weight loss.
• Provides protein with low calories and no fat
• Magnesium which promotes a healthy heart
• Potassium for blood sugar balance and healthy kidney function
• Good source of electrolytes for high performance and post exercise recovery
• You can freeze bananas in a freezer bag to use for future baking or smoothies

So the combination of pumpkin and bananas is an amazing way to bolster your heart, lungs, eyes and skin health. It’s like a superpower. You can eat one of these muffins and practically fly to your next destination. Just kidding. Don’t try to fly please.

Bakery crisp muffin tops.

Here’s my sister’s hot tip on a perfectly crispy crust on the top of the muffins. First of all, creaming softened butter and sugar gives it an overall lighter texture–cream together until fluffy and all the sugar granules are melded into the butter completely.

Another baker’s trick is to add the milk powder. This will also give a nice crust for the tops. And get that beautiful bakery style crunch on top, brush the tops with a little melted butter and sprinkled sugar.

Adding in sour cream is a throwback to old school cake baking. Sour cream gives a more silky texture to the muffins and richer flavor. In this recipe you are not using milk, I just reduced the butter amount by 3 tbs and substitute sour cream. This is also an easy way to spruce up any boxed muffin or cake mix and make it taste homemade.

If you prefer, you could bake this in a bundt cake or sheet cake pan as well. You can freeze the muffins to keep longer by putting them in a double lock freezer bag. My sister always laughs when I talk about freezing extras. She has a whole house full of boys and so there’s no such thing as “leftovers” there.

Bon Appetit!

 

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