Mmmm...muffins

Things are looking up here, Josie woke up this morning a bit more like her old self.  She's still more tired than usual, so while she slept this afternoon I made muffins!  I love to bake; I find it very comforting and it was a nice way to do something for me after several days of 24/7 caregiving.  I think I mentioned a few posts ago that I have been reading about nutrition lately and one of the books I really got a lot out of was "Superfoods Rx" by Dr. Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews.  I like it because the author talks about adding these "superfoods" to your diet rather than going on and on about what you shouldn't eat.  I have a history of relating badly to my food, and since going through an eating disorder as a teenager I've flopped between almost returning to that illness and not thinking about what I'm eating at all (because I know once I start to think about it I'll start to try to over control it).  So...long story short, I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of that tunnel and I've been interested in really learning about food lately and what I'm discovering is that it is amazing, powerful stuff.  Just for the last three weeks or so I've been trying to get as much good stuff into my diet as possible, and I feel great.  These additions may be the reason I didn't get sick when Josie and Phillip did (I've been trying my best to get both of them on board with some new foods, but it is a slow process). 

So what does this have to do with muffins?  Well, these arn't just any muffins, they are Whole Wheat Pumpkin Almond muffins.  The other great part about the "superfoods" is that they aren't really wierd, hard to find foods, they're pretty normal.  Pumpkin is probably the most unusual of the bunch.  Being that it is a food that I almost never eat, I wanted to find a great recipe to give it a try.  Below is that recipe, with my modifications, it is really easy and really good, and I'd highly recomend it.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
(or, as the recipe orginally called for, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 -1/2 cup vegetable oil (I increased the pumpkin puree in the recipe, so I used less oil than the original 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup chopped almonds or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, brown sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Make a well in the center, and put in eggs, pumpkin, oil and honey.  Mix just until the dry ingredients are absorbed.  Gently stir in almods or walnuts.  Spoon into muffin cups so they are about 2/3 full.

Bake for 18 - 21 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.  Cool in the pan before removing from cups.