The preschool Benjamin is attending is super strict about nuts. If there are no nut-allergies present in their students I just don't see the need, but then again, perhaps I am being insensitive. I'm just having a hard time being creative about lunch substitutes for his beloved peanut butter sandwich. Nuts are a major part of Benjamin's protein intake - he even walks around the house clutching a Costco-sized bag of raw almonds in his fist. Our favorite bars are raw nut and fruit-based - Lara Bars. What is there, if not nuts?
Well...he also loves bread products. The problem is, a diet of bread and crackers is never going to pack the nutritional punch that a growing boy needs. (Nevermind the detrimental effects of white flour and refined sugar.)
So I checked in this nifty little cookbook for some healthier ideas and found "Spicy Pumpkin Muffins". In case you are not familiar with agave nectar, it is kind of like honey - a natural sweet nectar produced by the agave plant. Like honey, it is raw and unprocessed - it is healthier for your body. Refined (white and brown) sugar actually acts as a poison in our bodies, exacerbating all kinds of afflictions: MS, cerebral palsy, cancer and so on. Raw, naturally occurring sugars such as honey and agave (and what is naturally found in fruit, carrots, snap peas and the like) take longer to break down and do not tax our system. There's a lot more to it than that, but I'm trying to keep it simple. Just search on the effects of refined sugar and see what you find.
So, being that I have mass quantities of roasted pumpkin puree made from pumpkins in the garden, I thought I would try out the pumpkin muffins. Here's the recipe. But first...the book can be found easily online, by author Ania Catalano.
1 c. oat flour
1 c. barley flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice (I chose to use ginger instead - 1/2 tsp...just because I like ginger better than the clove-allspice flavor)
1/2 c. milk or unsweetened soy milk
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c. amber agave nectar (I actually mixed agave and honey and used slightly less than called for)
1/4 c. expeller-pressed canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. raisins
1/3 c. walnuts (I used sunflower seeds to avoid the nut issue)
1/4 c. raw pumpkin seeds (I used these, but I don't like them - too big for a muffin)
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. (Actually...I baked mine for about 45 minutes. not sure what the problem was.)
Tasty lunchtime treat! Packed with fiber and nutrition.