True Nature Travels Blog

Cran Pumpkin Holiday Muffins!

These light and fluffy muffins are packed with decadent flavor and are sure to create that warm holiday feeling every morning you treat yourself to one.

Cran Pumpkin Holiday Muffins

 

Hey guys! It’s Alana Roach here, from the the wellness blog Explorations of Self, with another awesome recipe for the holiday season. These are the best muffins I have ever had!

Even if you aren’t a pumpkin person, you will 100% love these muffins.

Cran Pumpkin

I love Fall because of these pumpkin muffins. They are the most delicious thing ever. I can not express just how good they are! When they were ready, I was offering them to everyone I knew, proudly YUM!

Did you know that baking is good for mental health? Yes! When you are baking you are in a meditative state while being completely present and calm. When we are fully present with the textures, smells, heat, and tastes, we are, in a sense, having a tantric baking experience and in return are releasing major endorphins! Baking is a way to deeply nourish our selves through a sensory experience. Plus, in this day and age of fast food overload, anytime you take the time to make something at home, I applaud you! It’s also a good way to feed your right brain of creativity! Yes! Baking is one big artistry! We experiment, we tweak, we share, and we are delighted (Sometimes not so delighted) at the result.

Your family and friends will love this awesome recipe! You might want to make a double batch to get in the holiday spirit.

Trader Joe’s has really great Organic Pumpkin Puree. I go there for all of my baking goods!

Cran Pumpkin Holiday Muffins

 

Here’s the recipe:

Cran Pumpkin Holiday Muffins!

These ultra soft and flavorful pumpkin muffins are the perfect way to start your day. With just the right balance of flavors, these muffins are sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

Author: Alana Roach

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 12

Cran Pumpkin Holiday Muffins

INGREDIENTS

•1¾ cups buckwheat pancake mix

•1/2 cup maple syrup

•1 tsp stevia

•1 teaspoon baking soda

•½ teaspoon baking powder

•½ teaspoon salt

•2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

•¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

•2 large eggs

•1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin puree

•½ cup coconut oil, melted

•1 tablespoon almond milk

•1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•Order Ingredients

INSTRUCTIONS

1Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease with nonstick spray. Set aside.

2In a medium bowl, combine the buckwheat mix, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Whisk to combine and set aside.

3In a small bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin puree, coconut oil, nut-milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold to combine. The batter will be thick.

4Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan.

5Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan. Serve.

NOTES

You may need to heat up your coconut oil if it is solid.

 

BIO : Alana Roach  is a International Yogi currently based out of Annapolis, MD. Formerly adorned by the city lights and the busy streets of America, she was then whisked away by the illustrious path of yoga and took to traveling the world to share it with others. A few years back she started to write about the transformation she undertook by  practicing conscious meditation. Her passions became her career and she now holds RYS Teacher Trainings & International Retreats, Health Coaches, and writes every opportunity she gets. In her spare time she loves cuddling with her daughter,  surfing, being in nature, and living amongst her ever growing and global loving and conscious community. She is on Facebook , Instagram, Twitter, and can be reached by email explorationsofself@gmail.com

 

True Nature Travels Blog

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At first glance the holidays exude a joyful and spirited time of year. Parties and merriment abound while ’tis-ing the season to give warms and fills our hearts. While this may be true for some, for others the holidays can bring up challenging and negative feelings and emotions around the excessive commercialism of our society, grief and sadness over the loss of loved ones can be especially hard during this time of year and even the anxiety over the pressure of “new beginnings” with the New Year knocking on our door can remind us of our failed attempts at resolutions and intentions in the past. How do we find a balance? How can we cut straight to the real meaning of the season which truly centers around hope and possibility? Here are three ways to check in and reconnect with discovering your own “reason for the season.”

Make a list of what you love about the holidays

Make a list of three (or more) things that you love about this time of year. Is it listening to Christmas music or making cookies with your loved ones? Is it making homemade gifts or volunteering at the local shelter. Let’s be honest – they do not say “the hustle and bustle” of the holidays for no reason. It is so easy to get caught up in what might be not important to you at all during this time of year. By keeping your list close by and when things come up that you may not feel so comfortable with, looking to your list and touching in with one of those, you can stay close to what is important to you.

Create a space to reflect on the last year

We can get so caught up in looking to the New Year to see what “we can change” about ourselves that we often forget to stop and reflect on our accomplishments, our challenges, our ups and downs and what we have learned over the past year. It’s important to look back with thoughtful reflection and perhaps with a little more of that, you will find it a bit easier to look ahead with optimism and excitement.

Find time to give back

Regardless of whether we love or hate the holiday season, making time to give is not just something we should do once a year – BUT if that is the case, being of service to others is a straight shot of love right to the heart and truly has the potential to bring an abiding peace to your soul. Perhaps it is volunteering at a shelter by cooking a holiday meal or maybe it is choosing to make donations in your families names instead of buying gifts. It is ALWAYS the season of giving around here at True Nature and we love the holidays especially because of that.