Guilt-free Pumpkin Mini Muffins

I haven't updated in awhile, but this just might make it worth it.

Life has been pretty hectic lately. What with wedding planning, keeping up with school work, and kicking my workouts up a gear in preparation for engagement photos next month, I've been pretty busy. 

This afternoon however, I managed to find a glimmer of free time and instead of taking a nap, I decided to make some delicious fall-inspired pumpkin muffins. 

Tuesday Starbucks brought back the Pumpkin Spice Latte and it has been filling my dreams ever since. Since I'm not keen on blowing 220 calories on a drink, I decided why not just do one better, Muffins! Now these aren't my Mom's amazing pumpkin muffins but they are still pretty darn delicious. The best part? They're guilt free! These puppies are packed with fiber, protein, and are low-fat, great for a pre-workout snack!

Healthy Mini Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup Splenda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3 eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix together applesauce, pumpkin, and eggs until smooth. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Do not over mix! Spoon batter into mini muffin tins and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  BON APETIT!

Lunch for chumps

In an effort to procrastinate, I thought I'd take a stab at a little cooking photo essay-esque blog post... As you will see, I'm no food photographer and quite the amateur chef... so be gentle.

disclaimer: Everything I ever cook could be considered Ratatouille.I very rarely follow recipes or shop to meet recipes. The method to my madness is to take what I have, what I know I like, and what I believe to be healthy, and throw it together! Today I have created a surprisingly delicious and colorful lunch for one!

Shrimp and Asparagus with Red Quinoa (creative, huh?)

This dish only took me about 15 minutes to whip up and it tastes fantastic! Perfect for a day when I SHOULD be studying and not blogging...

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Dry red quinoa
1 cup Vegetable broth (low-sodium!!)
3 Asparagus stalks
10 Raw peeled shrimp
2 T. Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t. Red pepper flakes
1/2 t. Chili powder
1/4 t. Dried oregano

Fifteen minutes, GO!

Boil 1/2 cup red quinoa with 1 cup vegetable broth

The boxed Red Quinoa is available everywhere, you just have to hunt for it. I typically buy it in bulk from the local foods store but found this guy on sale!

In a small bowl, thaw raw peeled shrimp
(as many as you wish!)

In a sauce pan, sautee asparagus in olive oil
(if you have onion or tomatoes, add those too!)

I just bought these male asparagus at the Farmer's market this morning, aren't they beautiful? Because they are so big, I sauteed them slowly to make sure they were cooked all the way through! Since I was only working with what I had, I only used asparagus but any veggies would be tasty! I wish I had an onion!

Season raw shrimp

As a lover of spicy food I seasoned my dish with red pepper flakes and chili powder and loved how it turned out. I've also tried seasoning this dish with curry seasoning which is also really good, but use your imagination!

Throw the shrimp in the saucepan until they turn pink
(about 3 minutes)

 Some people are weirded out by putting raw food next to veggies, if thats the case, set your asparagus aside, and cut 'em up! They should be done by now anyway (after about 10 minutes). Cook these shrimpies until they turn pink!

After 15 minutes, check the quinoa! It should have sprouted and
should be soft by now!

Ta da! The quinoa is done, the shrimp is done, and asparagus is done! Now chop up the asparagus into pieces, add about 1/2 cup of quinoa into the sauce pan and stir around on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes. I do this just to get the seasoning of the shrimp mixed well with the quinoa and asparagus, it's not mandatory.

Now for the best part! EATING! 

Final result!

Now that the fun has ended I must return to this...

Econometrics studying...yay.