In order for me to have success in the kitchen I need recipes(/what recipes?) to have room for creative freedom. 

I half, I double, I take things out and I add things in.

I can imagine that watching me bake is stressful for the perfectionists among us.  
 
The way I cook only works when I think about the role of any ingredients that I change.
This is especially important for baking as most ingredients are there for a reason.

I LOVE using pumpkin in baking.
I also LOVE substituting blitzed oats for flour as a healthier alternative.

​I have developed a pumpkin spice muffin that is nutritious, moist and delicious.
NB: At first I didn't use the LSA but the mixture was too runny so I added it at the end to help hold the mixture together.

Instructions
     1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
     2. Soak dates in boiling water
     3. Add oats to food processor until it resembles flour. 
     4. Put in a bowl and add other dry ingredients - LSA, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt.
     5. Leave the skin on and chop pumpkin in half. Chop in to small cubes and boil/microwave until soft.
    6. Add pumpkin to food processor to make a puree. Add other wet ingredients - drained dates, coconut cream, vanilla essence, eggs. 
     7. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. 
     8. Add mixture to muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes. 
 
Makes 12 generous muffins. Or 1 large loaf

Download the pdf here.

​Per 100g:                    Carbs (g)              Starch(g)              Fibre (g)
Butternut squash             6.9                          1.7                          1.8
Kumara – with skin          14.1                        8.5                          3.0
Potato – with skin            12.9                        12.3                        1.8

All three of these vegetables are amazing. They contain goodies like: Potassium, Magnesium, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. All of which play a role in keeping us well.

It is commonly thought that pumpkins have a high carbohydrate content, but you can see the Butternut squash has almost half the carbohydrate content of both potato and kumara; very little starch and like a lot of vegetables, it’s high in dietary fibre.
To get the most out of these vegetables and to decrease meal preparation time, leave the skins on.

Tip - If you’re making soup, pumpkin skins can be easily blended by using a stick blender.
​
Keep cosy during this cold snap and perhaps warm up with some pumpkin soup, I plan on it.