Pumpkin Mania

I’m alive, I swear!  Thank you for all of the kind comments on my wedding photos.  There are more posted now if you want to revisit the link!

Can I just say I love being married?  I thought I would be sad that the wedding is over, but it was exactly what I had hoped for, and by far the happiest day of my life.  I’m so lucky to have married my best friend!

I’ve been spending time with my new hubby and getting back in to the swing of things at work.  I never thought I’d be a daily blogger, so hang in there if you only hear from me a few times a week!  I have been catching up on my blog reading though, just can’t stay away.

Who’s ready for fall flavors?

Okay, maple is delish, but it’s really all about pumpkin.

Flavored coffees are a great alternative to the 200+ calorie pumpkin spice lattes or Dunkin’ pumpkin syrup.  Sweetened with stevia or Splenda and topped with some cinnamon, they’re a much better option nutritionally!

I was so happy to read that there are others out there who hoard pumpkin.  I bought an entire case last year after the shortage in 2009  – there was no way I was risking it!

I’ve made pumpkin roll, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin cookies in the past, but I’m on a hunt for the perfect baking recipe.  Anyone?  I was thinking about Courtney’s bread or maybe this oil free muffin recipe. 

Luckily my new husband has been completely indulging my pumpkin mania, and encouraged me to get pumpkin ice cream at a local festival rather than the fat free blueberry frozen yogurt.  I *did* make him share it with me (another great way to reduce your caloric intake), but we both loved it so much that he’s still talking about how we should have each had our own!  Sorry for the crappy phone-outdoor-too-bright-flash photo.

I immediately made some pumpkin frozen yogurt the next day, cutting back the fat and sugar considerably.  You’ll have to wait patiently for that recipe! 😉

The frozen yogurt made me crack open the first official can of the season, so I immediately tried Katie’s latte recipe for breakfast.  Complete with almond milk and a hit of sugar free caramel, it was perfection.

I drank most of it before snapping a photo – my apologies!  I’ve been eating/drinking without taking photos for too long!

Side note – I’ve read some reviews of sugar free pumpkin spice coffee syrup that were less than stellar.  Has anyone tried them?  I’m usually a fan of DaVinci’s sugar free syrups.

And since the pumpkin was open and I was craving my favorite garbanzo bean pancakes (adapted from Lauren’s perfect recipe), I had to go for the double pumpkin breakfast.

The weather in Pittsburgh has been all kinds of crazy – a sweaty 99 degrees on my wedding day and in the 50’s a few days later!  One of those chilly mornings called for pumpkin overnight oats, warmed the next morning in the microwave and topped with a spoonful of sunflower seed butter and maple syrup.

In the overnight mix: 1/3 cup oats, 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup pumpkin, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 4 drops vanilla stevia, 1 scoop JM’s vanilla cake batter protein powder.  After heating I added 1 tsp sunflower seed butter and 2 Tbsp sugar free maple syrup.

Approximate nutrition: 275 calories, 30g carbs, 7g fat, 23 g protein.

I’m going to try to get back in to blogging (and commenting) regularly, but then we leave for two weeks on our honeymoon!  Still trying to keep up! 

I’d love to gather up a bunch of pumpkin related eats all in one spot.  What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?  Shameless self promotion encouraged! 😉