Healthy apple pumpkin breakfast muffins

A healthy, easy, breakfast muffin, low in sugar in loaded with good-for-you apples and whole grain oats -- plus some seasonal pumpkin.

Now is the time of year when I highlight a few pumpkiny things on the blog. Because it's actually October now, the time when pumpkins are in season and seasonally appropriate.

Although you, like I, are likely suffering from a bad case of PSO: Pumpkin Spice Overload, which has reached epidemic proportions this year.

Pumpkins and Apples

I've gotten a bit of a reputation among my friends and readers over the years for being adamant with my No Pumpkin Until October rule. Every pumpkin-spice-hating meme has made its way on to my Facebook page, courtesy of Ninj fans.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate pumpkin. I'm just a firm believer in keeping my life and eating habits seasonal.

And letting apples, one of the world's most perfect food, have their time in the sun, which is the entire month of September, in my book. It's the month for indulging in apple butter, apple pie oatmeal, apple bread pudding and apple sauce -- just for starters.

But now that it's early October, it's time for apples and pumpkins to join forces, which they do so quite deliciously in these healthy apple pumpkin breakfast muffins.

Nutty vegetarian lasagna

Introduce more meatless meals into your weekly menu, starting with this nutty vegetarian lasagna, loaded with Brussels sprouts and kale.

Have you seen the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans that were all over the news lately? The new guidelines tell us, basically, to consume less meat and sugar and eat more veggies. What a shocker, right?

But, if you're a meatasaurus like I am, or if you have a picky eater in the house, it can be hard to introduce veggie-packed, meatless meals into the menu mix.

Good news: One easy and delicious place to start is this nutty vegetarian lasagna, loaded with good-for-you veggies like Brussels sprouts, mushrooms and kale with a nutty twist from pureed cashews. Yes, cashews -- in your lasagna!

If you're a lasagna purist, you might be skeptical. I promise you that this nutty vegetarian lasagna in no way misses the mark for comfort-food heartiness or flavor. Even I-Never-Met-A-Vegetable-I-Liked Mr. Ninj gave it two thumbs up -- and had two helpings.

9 perfect pumpkin recipes

Get your pumpkin on with these nine pumpkin recipes. With ideas for breakfast, entrees, snacks, drinks and more, you're sure to find a recipe to please every pumpkin-lover's palate.

Before another October draws to a close and we put our pumpkin-spice whatevs obsession on the backburner until next year (well, except for pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, of course), let's take a look at some of The Ninj's favorite pumpkin recipes.

Whether you like your pumpkin in a cool breakfast smoothie, a cheesy comforting pasta dinner or a zippy hummus as an afternoon snack -- or anything in between! -- The Ninj has got you covered with these nine great recipes:

Pumpkin hummus

It only takes five minutes to make this healthy pumpkin hummus: enjoy it as a dip for fresh veggies and crackers or spread it on sandwiches for added fall flavor. 

Ah, what's a food blogger to do as October comes to end? No more pumpkin! We've probably given you more than your fill of pumpkin-themed muffins, cupcakes, lattes, smoothies, pies, cookies, donuts, whoopie pies, breads, waffles and sauces.

But I had to slip in just one more pumpkin recipe before Halloween.

One thing you'll notice about my pumpkin recipe list is that pretty much all the options are sweet. And I do not have that big a sweet tooth -- more of a savory tooth, to be honest. Which is why I love this pumpkin hummus. A bit hard to describe, it's not quite savory and not quite sweet. It's got a je ne c'est quoi that makes it a favorite for both kids and adults -- and, let's face it, how often does that ever happen with something that's not a baked good or smothered in chocolate?

Pumpkin maple smoothie {$100 gift card giveaway}

This healthy pumpkin maple smoothie, made with silken tofu, is gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free. A creamy, delicious, on-the-go fall-flavored breakfast or afternoon treat.

You'd have to be living under a very, very large rock not to have encountered some kind of Pumpkin Spice Whatevs this fall. While this craze may seem -- well -- more than a little cray cray, there's a reason why we all tend to get so worked up about pumpkin in October -- other than Halloween and jack-o-lanterns, of course. One whiff of pumpkin and cinnamon and nutmeg together can conjure up all sorts of memories of cool weather, falling leaves, cozy sweaters and crackling fires.

Which is probably why pumpkin spice is such a coffee house favorite -- you need a comforting beverage to keep you warm as you site by the crackling fire in the cool weather in your cozy sweater, watching the leaves fall.

But since I'm no longer a coffee drinker, I wanted to come up with a way that I, too, could enjoy Pumpkin Spice Whatevs this fall, without falling too far off the healthy food bandwagon.

As luck would have it, I got the opportunity recently to try some Mori-Nu Silken Tofu, which inspired me to focus my pumpkin spice attention on smoothies.

Now, before you freak out that I added tofu to my smoothie, let me explain. Mori-Nu is different because it's silken tofu, which has a very smooth and custard-like texture, so it adds a great creamy texture to smoothies (with no bananas required!). And it never needs to be pressed or drained, so you can use it as-is, straight out of the box -- you know The Ninj is all about speed and simplicity in recipes.

Pumpkin Gorgonzola pasta

Enjoy all the best flavors of fall in this hearty but lightened pasta, with a rich and creamy pumpkin gorgonzola cheese sauce.

Now that it's October, I give all of us official permission to start talking about pumpkin recipes.

Granted, I'm probably the only food blogger on the planet that hasn't been posting pumpkin recipes since Labor Day, but I'm loyal to produce seasonality.

I don't mean to malign the poor pumpkin; I love it, I really do. Well, except for pumpkin pie -- but that's just because I'm a pie crust hater. And pumpkin spice freakin' lattes -- but that's just because they are all over the place like a really bad rash. How about a butternut latte, Starbucks? Or a kale-scented candle, Yankee Candle people? I'd buy either one of those in a heartbeat.

Anyhoo, we're talking pumpkin. More specifically, we're talking pumpkin pasta. Even more specifically, pumpkin pasta with a rich, creamy Gorgonzola cheese sauce.

Awwwwwwwww yeah.

This pasta recipe is an oldie-but-a-goodie around Casa de Ninj. It's a Cooking Light recipe that I have been making for 10 years.

(ERMERGAHD, 10 years!)

It's a recipe I like to make not only because it is aw-aw-awesome but also because it reminds me of how far I have come since I really started cooking. Which, frankly, wasn't until about 2000, when I got married -- and realized that if I didn't step up and do the cooking, we'd be eating non-stop takeout Chinese from the Busy Bee, which was Mr. Ninj's favorite (in fact, he just refers to all Chinese restaurants now as "The Busy Bee").

Pumpkin ginger cupcakes (gluten-free or not) -- and a giveaway

These delicious pumpkin ginger cupcakes with mascarpone frosting can be made gluten-free or not.

Yes, I know it's November and therefore the all-pumpkin-all-the-time blogger recipe pumpkinpalooza should now be over, right?

Wrong.

As I have mentioned before, The Ninj respects seasonality. To wit, I held off this year on pumpkin-izing the blog until October, to give props to apples and pears in September.

And guess what? Pumpkins are still in season, even though Halloween is over and it is November! I mean, hello? Ever heard of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert?

But I'm here to do you one seasonal dessert better, since regular readers know I'm not a fan of pie: pumpkin ginger cupcakes with a creamy mascarpone-cream cheese frosting. Now THIS is a Thanksgiving dessert that I can get behind.

And did I mention these cupcakes are gluten-free? OR NOT!!? And that either way they are moist, not cloyingly sweet and perhaps the most perfect dessert EVAH?

Yeah, I'm pleasing the heck out of everyone with this one, especially for Thanksgiving. Pfffft: Who the hell would eat pie when you can have cupcakes?

Bourbon apple pumpkin butter

Slow cooker bourbon apple pumpkin butter -- so simple to make in the crockpot, using fresh pumpkin.

It's the third week of October: Are you sick of pumpkin yet?

I hope you appreciate that I haven't been overwhelming you with pumpkin recipes; I've been trying to let apples and other fall favorites have their time in the sun. But I couldn't resist this recipe. It showcases not only flavorful fall apples but also finally-seasonally-appropriate pumpkin ...

... and booze!

There you go: Possibly the most perfect fall recipe yet, no?

I have no doubt you have seen lots of recipes flying around the blogosphere this month for pumpkin butter. But have you really looked at them or made any of them? It's safe to say that 99 percent of them involve cooking down some canned pumpkin.

Come on, peeps: We can do better. (Ninjas always do better.) And it's not hard.

If you're going to go to the effort to make a pumpkin butter, why not use some fresh pumpkin? Jeesh, and if you throw it in a crockpot and then immersion-blend the bejesus out of it, it practically cooks itself.

Which is exactly what I did.

Pumpkinpalooza

OK, OK -- it's officially October 1 now. Bring on Pumpkinpalooza!

Pinspiration: slow cooker pumpkin bread

 

Are you on Pinterest? If so, I'm sure you, like thousands of others, have a pin board named "Yummy Food to Make" or "Recipes I Want to Try" or "Hellz Yeah" or some other such cleverness.

Now, show of hands: how many of you have actually made any of those recipes?

(Crickets, crickets, crickets)

Exactly.

That's what inspired this new feature: Pinspiration.

As a food blogger, it's hard to come up with interesting new ideas for things to cook every single day, since I rarely make the same thing twice anymore. Therefore, I really appreciate all the inspiration I get from things I see on Pinterest.

So I decided to create a feature to show some love for all of your pins.

First up, a yummy pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and crystallized ginger made in the slow cooker, courtesy of Katie at Mom's Kitchen Handbook, inspired by a slow cooker banana bread recipe from Jane of The Zen of Slow Cooking.

Shut. The. Front. Door.

Not lying, not a typo: the slow cooker. Now you know why the original pin caught my eye.

Maple pumpkin mini muffins

Healthy maple pumpkin mini muffins -- great for breakfasts or snacks -- easy to make and easy to eat!

Maple pumpkin mini muffins

WE MADE IT!!!

Another Detox January is over and we didn't die. See? I told you it wouldn't be that hard.

Final results? I'm down nine pounds, Mr. Ninj lost more than ten and we are feeling all svelte and healthy (well, svelte-ish and healthy-ish).

Now, in past years, the end of Detox January usually meant the beginning of Retox February, unfortunately. But I've done a better job of dealing with denial this year. That is, I didn't ban all cookies and sweets or anything crazy like that so that we (hopefully) wouldn't go overboard when we were "allowed" to eat them again.

Case in point: last week's black bean chocolate cookies, which were a not-so-bad-for-you indulgence that let me have my cake and eat it, too -- almost literally.

So I thought we'd end this year's Detox January on a positive note, to keep us rolling into a Less-Toxy February and beyond.

Baked goods are tricky when it comes to trying to make a recipe healthier. I often substitute applesauce for oil or butter in cookies or muffins, but they can often end up a little too rubbery as a result. When Mr. Ninj eats one and says "This is healthy, isn't it?" (and not in an excited way), it generally means it's too rubbery.

That's where the stealthy part of my cooking comes in (again, I refer you back to those black bean chocolate cookies). I went through a bit of experimenting with this muffin recipe to find the perfect balance of taste, texture and nutrition.

Red pepper pumpkin soup

Enjoy this easy recipe for red pepper pumpkin soup -- for lunch or dinner, it's a creamy sipping soup that will warm your body and spirit.

Red pepper pumpkin soup

Before you say, "Two soup recipes in a row?", let me point out that, here in Vermont, it is 21 degrees and has already snowed -- before election day.

So yes, soup again.

But I'm giving you a lovely, seasonal soup that is so delicious and easy it would be appropriate to serve at the Thanksgiving table, if you serve a soup course.

So you really can't complain.

(And if you do, well ... no soup for you.)

I love red pepper soup. I have a go-to red pepper soup recipe that I make quite a bit, so I almost didn't try this recipe. I worried that the addition of pumpkin and sweet potato might disqualify it as a sipping soup, which is what my red pepper soup is: a soup that is comforting as well as nourishing, a soup that you drink from a coffee mug in front of the fireplace rather than from a bowl at the kitchen table.

But, being all ninja-like, I threw caution to the wind and tried it.

I think you'll be glad I did.

Detox January, Week 2: Bake Sale Chocolate Muffins

Two-ingredient chocolate and pumpkin muffins -- so good, they're even bake-sale-worthy.

Chocolate muffins (or cupcakes, if you prefer)

Chocolate muffins, OK, but I bet you're wondering about the bake sale part, right?

There's a backstory...

I recently learned that there is a backlash developing against the resurgence of interest in domesticity or what we of a certain age learned long ago as "home economics." I know, I know, this shouldn't be news, right? I mean, every time something becomes popular or trendy, a backlash ensues, yes?

So now baking is under fire.

(Not to mention raising chickens, but that's off-topic right now. )

This all came to a head when a contributor in The New York Times bemoaned the fact that people have actually been offering up Oreos or other store-bought treats as fodder for fund-raising bake sales. She apparently started an online uproar (summarized excellently by Jennifer Reese over at The Tipsy Baker), which has spiraled into an attack on what one of her critics calls the current "anti-feminist homemaker fetish."

Yipes. All she suggested was that you might actually want to BAKE for a bake sale.

So, as an Anti-Feminist Homemaker Fetish-ite, I offer up the following as a peace offering for the two camps:

Delicious, bake sale-worthy, low-fat/low-calorie/low-Weight-Watchers-points* chocolate muffins (or cupcakes, if you prefer) that even the busiest CEO can find time to make.

Pumpkin soup with Gruyere: a recipe

Pumpkin soup with Gruyere

I love cooking from magazines but sometimes their ingredient lists send me on a bit of a wild goose chase.

Enter this pumpkin soup recipe from the October issue of Bon Appetit.

The soup is cooked in the pumpkin itself so the authors advise choosing a variety of pumpkin that will hold up well in the oven. Think about what a colossal mess you'd have if the pumpkin caved in on itself with all that liquid inside it. Yipes. So yes, great advice.

However, their recommendations for sturdy varieties include "Cheese" or "Jarrahdale."

Um ... say WHAT?

Now, granted, I live in the sticks so you'd expect I personally might not be as familiar with these varieties as our cosmopolitan recipe authors, but I do live in one of the locavore capitals of the United States and a place where heirloom varieties of anything can be pretty easily found at farmers markets, farm stands and even grocery stores.

So, undaunted, I headed off to a very large local farm stand, knowing that they supply not only local home cooks but also a lot of the high-end area restaurants and natural markets. Surely they'd have every kind of hip pumpkin that exists, right?

The owner had never even heard of these varieties. Great.