Paleo Pumpkin Spice Protein Muffins (no sugar added)

I am not a pumpkin pie kind of person, and would have said I don't like pumpkin.  But I do like fall squashes and I decided to give these a try and I'm so glad I did.  These muffins are yummy.  I've adopted them from one of my favorite blogs which I recommend highly.  The original recipe called for maple syrup as a sweetener, but this would add whopping 70 grams of carbs to my total recipe and no fiber.  I've also heard how great and low glycemic coconut nectar is, and I tried that originally and they were good, but that also added a ton of carbs to my recipe.   Instead I used unsweetened apple sauce which only adds 10grams to the entire recipe.  If you want them a bit sweeter you can a little bit of stevia extract.  I also added protein powder, because I personally never eat carbs without protein.   My modified version, including the optional chocolate chips, give you a nice breakfast meal replacement or a mid-morning snack.  It was a lovely thing to have this morning with my cup of coffee.  

Adapted from: Detoxinista.com

Makes 12 large muffins

Nutrition Information per large muffin (including the choc chips): 197 calories, 11g total carbs - 3g fiber = 9 net carbs, 9 grams of protein.

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  15 - 20mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond butter (store-bought or homemade)
• ½ cup pumpkin puree (you can find this canned at whole foods)
• 2 whole eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice*
• ⅓ cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 scoops sun warrior protein blend vanilla protein powder
• Optional: ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F, and line a standard muffin pan or mini muffin tins with paper muffin cups.
2. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix until a smooth batter is formed, folding in the chocolate chips last, if desired.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350F, until the centers are firm and starting to crack.
4. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

*Note: You can make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice by using 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg instead.