Paleo Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

October 09, 2016

Paleo Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Ok, so let’s just start by saying that technically, baked goods are not allowed when you’re doing Whole30. There’s your disclaimer. With that said, I’m not following Whole30 to a T this time. I did an authentic round following every rule for round one back in March/April. This time I’m bending a few rules and doing it on my terms and I’m 100% ok with that.

I am following the food rules – no grains, sugars, legumes, or dairy – but I’m letting the whole no drinking your food and no baked goods slide a bit.

I went without my Shakeology last time we Whole30’d and while I survived, I found it hard to not have that quick meal option in the morning. We did sub in a green or fruit smoothie in the mornings on work days but I found that I was ravenous within an hour – something that never happens to me when I start my day with Shakeology. So this time around, I’m keeping my Shakeo. for the nutrients and the easy healthy meal option.

I’m also allowing for a few Whole30 compliant baked goods. I shared my Whole30 pumpkin bread last week and this is this week’s concoction. While muffins and pancakes and the like are not Whole30 approved, the ingredients are and sometimes you just need to do what works for you and this is it.

How am I feeling? Well, I’m starting week 3 this week and I’m feeling good. Far less bloated and fluffy which is a HUGE change from how I was feeling when I started. I’ve lost about 5 lbs which matters less to me than the blah feeling I’ve ditched.

Here's a snapshot of this week's meals - lots and lots of eggs, thanks to Hayden who loves to make eggs for me, and a lot of soup because it's both warm and easy to make in bulk.

I have definitely been struggling a bit more than I would have liked this week on the food front. This in part that my prep hasn’t been as on point this week as it was last. Exhaustion from work and life kind of got the best of me this week and I wound up subbing in a few more shakes than last week.

Thankfully (?), I’m stubborn and would rather not eat than eat bad food so there’s that but skipping meals is almost as bad as eating the wrong foods so I’m dedicated this week to prepping better than I have been. The Monday holiday is my friend this week so tomorrow I’ll be spending some time getting my ducks in a row for the week ahead. I’ve done a little prep already in the form of turkey meatloaf muffins and some crockpot buffalo chicken for salads during the week.

These muffins going to be my morning snack this week combined with a little blackberry chia seed pudding – yum! Thank you to easypaleo.com for the inspiration!

Paleo Pumpkin Streusel Muffin

Ingredients

½ c. pumpkin puree

1/2 c. coconut oil, melted

4 Tbls coconut milk

6 eggs

1 Tbls vanilla extract

(6 medjool dates, pitted and mashed with 1 Tbls water – NON-WHOLE30)

½ tsp salt

¼ tso baking soda

1 Tbls pumpkin pie spice

½ c. coconut flour

Streusel

½ c. pecans, chopped

¼ c. almond meal/flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbls coconut oil, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners or grease with coconut oil.

2. IF NOT DOING WHOLE30: In a small bowl, add pitted medjool dates and 1 tablespoon water. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds on high. Mash the dates with fork.

3. IF USING DATES USE A FOOD PROCESSOR to combine date mixture, pumpkin puree, coconut oil (melted), coconut milk, eggs, vanilla extract, salt, baking soda, and pumpkin spice. Process until well combine and the date mixture is pureed. IF DOING WHOLE30 MIX IN A BOWL.