Delicious Grain Free Pumpkin Muffins!

These were so delicious! I started off a few months ago making Elana's pantry Paleo Breakfast Bread, and these are a far reaching adaptation of that, I suppose, though it's not really much like it anymore!

Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/4 c almond butter
1 15 oz can pumpkin
2 eggs
1/3 c sugar (I use raw.)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger

For the topping, I just sprinkled mini chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and a combo of both on the top. I used only a few tablespoons of each, I suppose.

This isn't very Elana's Pantry-ish, but throw it all in the mixer and mix on a low speed until mixed! Spoon into muffin tins. Bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes. (I forgot to turn on the timer, but I did the toothpick check to make sure they were done.)

Makes about 18 muffins.

* Yes, that's almond butter, not almond flour.
* B/c of the sugar it's not Paleo. These are awfully moist, so I'm not sure honey or agave would work. Someone else is welcome to try!

My favorite part is that they have protein in them, so it's much more substantial than just a baked treat. Jacob said, "Welcome to muffin heaven!" :)

Maybe I shouldn't feel guilty

So as Mattie's first grade year is well into the first semester, I find myself sad that she's getting so much less of the fun stuff that Jacob got.  When Jacob was little, there were several of us that got together to do the fun things (that aren't my strength). We don't have that now for her, and it makes me sad, because honestly, she'd probably enjoy it much more than he even did!  There were cousins his age - lots of them, and we don't have that with her, so it's all just different. But as I was lamenting tonight and feeling sad that I'm just not doing well enough in that area for her, I realized that Jacob's early years were very special... only him, activities geared toward only him, interests chosen for him, time with only him, books chosen for only him, etc.  But then I realized that her high school years will be the special time with only her as Jacob will have likely gone to college... activities geared toward only her, interests chosen for her, time with only her, books chosen for only her, and I guess it will all balance out. I still get frustrated that I'm not so good at the fun stuff, but this did balance it out a bit!

BEECH Retreat

So one of the things I do for my new part time job is blog for Five in a Row.  I do a lot of editing and posting articles written by the authors of Five in a Row, but I also get to input some of my own stuff as well.  Because I have no marketing degree, and a marketing degree isn't really a social media degree, I'm not sure yet what the right balance of different types of information is... product info, how-to, inspiration, etc.  There are so many things I'm still learning by trial and error!  But there's this amazing retreat in this amazing location, and I'm really hoping I get to go!  There's also this amazing giveaway that I'm participating in to increase those chances of attending. :)  If you enjoy blogging and want to learn more, check it out! I know, I think I'd want to go even if I had never blogged a day in my life!