I’ve been on this sugar-free journey for three weeks.
It hasn’t been easy.
I’m not going to lie, I have cheated.
Four days out of seven last week,
I indulged.
One day I even had sugar in its purest form:
cotton candy.
But, I’ll tell you what, I’ve still
cut my sugar intake by at least 80% overall.
That’s something to be proud about.

Through this experiment,
I’ve gained a really great awareness of
what all the nutrition experts are saying
about foods in the United States:
Manufacturers add an alarming amount
of sugar into everything.
After losing 12 pounds in the last three weeks, it makes me want
to revolutionize the shelves of our grocery stores
for all the other ignorant suckers out there.
Here is a really shocking info-graphic
that I found fascinitating.

Unfortunate for this busy mom, the easiest way I have found to avoid sugar is to make everything from scratch with whole foods.

I would love to become a manufacturer that produces real easy fast healthy sugar-free foods from the shelf, but until I do, or until someone else does, I will stick with spending a more considerable amount of time in the kitchen.

Today’s recipe is one I converted out of desperation a few weeks ago.
I quickly realized that replacing sugar with honey could be just as problematic in my caloric intake,
so I made myself a rule to consider any baked goods the devil.

If I can learn to have moderation in my baked good intake,
then this recipe will be one I hope to go-to often,
especially after just reading about the health benefits of pumpkin.

And now what you have been waiting for:

Sugar-Free Pumpkin Muffins

3/4 – 1 cup of honey (you might be able to even take this down to 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (you can probably substitute this for coconut oil)
1 egg
5 oz. pumpkin puree
1 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg (or you can just use 1 tsp pumpkin spice)

This yields 12 muffins, but if you want to use the whole 15 oz can of pumpkin, just triple it.
These freeze well, but I intentionally only made 12, as eating 12 is one third the guilt of eating 36.

Mix well the honey, oil, egg and pumpkin. Then just dump the flour, salt, powder, soda, and spices on top. Mix again. (I use my kitchen aid mixer with the beat attachment)

Drop into muffin pan lined with muffin papers. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.