Menu Plan Monday

Week of December 4, 2017

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Drizzle

Have you ever become paralyzed by wanting to do something SO right that you became frozen and unable to move forward?  That is what has been happening to me.  I have been wanting my first recipe back to blow your socks off....then I wanted a fabulous picture that is completely drool worthy....THEN, I wanted to write up a blog post that was funny, witty, and "gee I love this chick" inducing.  Well, I have 1 out of 3 for you, LOL!  This recipe is seriously THE most amazing pumpkin muffin I have ever had.  But guess what??  This one is Keto, sugar-free, and low carb.  It is beyond delicious and not in the "I guess it scratches the itch" type way.   It does call for a couple ingredients that you may not have on hand.  Sorry, but not too sorry because I believe that is why this doesn't taste like an "almost" muffin.  I ordered my Oat Fiber off of Trim Healthy Mama, but have heard Netrition has a few brands as well.  Also, in true Siggy Spice style, I want you to adapt the sweetness level in your Cream Cheese Drizzle to YOUR taste.  I trust you, so you trust you...taste and adapt as desired!

PUMPKIN SPICE MUFFINS with CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE DRIZZLE

Recipe by:  Siggy Spice

Yield:  12 standard size muffins

Ingredients:

1 scant cup pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

1/4 cup Sugar Free maple syrup (I prefer Joseph's brand but have used Walden Farms as well)

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp maple extract

1/2 tsp butter extract

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup oat fiber (I used THM brand)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup sweetener of choice (I used Pyure which I have found at HEB or Walmart)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare muffin pan with baking spray or liners.  I use a silicone 12-count muffin pan. 

Prepare wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately.  Combine wet and dry ingredients until mixed well.  Divide batter into 12 standard size muffin cups. 

Bake for about 30-37 (ish) minutes. Just keep checking them!

Let cool for about 15 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Let cool completely before drizzling.

For the Cream Cheese Drizzle: 

Whip 4 oz softened cream cheese until fluffly. Add sweetener, cinnamon, and vanilla to taste, then added a drizzle of heavy cream, about 2 TBSP and whip the living daylights out of it until it is fluffy.  Drizzle over muffins.  Best is they are allowed to chill in fridge overnight!

Menu Plan Moday

It's Menu Plan Monday...on a Wednesday....because, you know, life.  LOL!

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Monday my Spice-y friends!
Every Monday, my goal is to post a picture of what my menu plan looks like for the week for you.  If I have any links to already published recipes (either on my page or someone else's), I will post the links as well.
Just an FYI, I usually only plan 4 meals for the week.  I find it gives me a little more flexibility to change things up if needed without having an entire freezer and pantry filled with random ingredients for meals I ended up not cooking.
This week, is pretty lame for y'all, sorry!  I am going to play around with a few old family favorites to re-vamp them into some keto/low carb deliciousness, so no recipes yet.
As always, if you have any questions, leave a comment or drop me a line by email or on Facebook.  Have an AHHHH-mazing week - xoxo

Tap, tap, tap....

Tap, tap, tap...
Is this thing on?
Isn't that how to figure out if people are still listening as they try to figure out a pithy way to say “hi” again and reconnect with their slice of the blog-o-spehere?  The fact that I have just rewrote 9 sentences to try to transition into this all important conversation, when really, all of my inner dialogue just wants to get to it.  No muss, no fuss.  So, because I am drawing a blank for a sassy and smart transition, and because I can...let's do this interview style, shall we?

Q:  I am new here, who the heck are you?
A:  My name is Sig, aka – Siggy Spice.  I started this blog many MANY moons ago as a sort of therapy.  You can read all about that crazy story HERE.  I have made some AMAZING friends here along the way.   A little more about me, I am a 40-ish year old Mama of 4, living the suburban dream.  Even though I don't fit the Stepford wife, crazy micro-managing PTA Mom type you will find in the ‘burbs, I am comfortable here dodging the drama, even if that makes me seem unsocial at times.    I love my family.  Man, do I love my family.  In fact, truth be told, I think I love my kids and husband more than any person has ever loved theirs.  Yup, I said it.  I love to cook, hate to do dishes and clean up after myself.  I despise laundry.  I have recently discovered I am a pretty good home decorator and have a creative side I am continually exploring and pushing the boundaries of.  I am a make-up junkie.  I have 3 dogs and 1 cat.  I have serious carpool rage.  I change my hair color a LOT.  I have a woo-woo side....I am very intuitive and firmly believe in signs, mind/body/spirit connection, and all things woo.  While I like to say I am a hippie, I am not crunchy...I like Sephora and Target too much.  

Q:  Um….where the heck have you been for the last 3+ years???  Why are you back?

A:  3+ years.  Wow.  That doesn’t even seem possible.  I started this blog during such a hard time of my life and used it as a sort of a way to crawl out from under my self-imposed rock.  I used it as a platform to try new recipes.  I used it as a way to connect with people since we had just moved across the country.  Another cross-country move and we are still in Austin.  Totally enjoying the AMAZING culinary scene here.  I have grown as a person, as a Mom, as a wife, as a cook. 

I have also lost over 100 pounds. 

Yup, you read that right.   Over 100 pounds. 

I had been somewhat over-weight most of my life.  After college, marriage, babies, stress of life, etc., my weight ballooned to the point it was having a direct effect on my health.  About 2-3  years ago, I was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic.  I was put on Metformin and told to watch what I ate.  I watched, and did great for about 4 months.  Then, like so many times before, I had a bad meal, which turned into a bad day, week, month, and year.  In November of 2015, I was diagnosed with a 5cm "multi-septated complex" Ovarian cyst, not known if it was cancerous.   As I was sitting in the Gynecological Oncologist office and he was explaining how fat traps Estrogen, therefore, all this Estrogen was trapped in my body causing this, I knew that this was an unintended consequence of my choices I had made.  We decided that since I was no longer in the baby game, and my risk for gynecological cancers were high, that we would do a full hysterectomy even if the mass proved to be benign.  So, that is what we did. 

12 days later, my Gallbladder decided it wanted to break up with me too.  

As I was sitting in the ER being poked over and over again because they couldn’t find a vein, I had my A-HA moment.  I knew if I didn’t make a drastic change this was going to be my life.  I had a vision of me in and out of ER’s and Dr. offices waiting on the next diagnoses, putting out fires left and right.  Having gallbladder surgery after a complete hysterectomy was a lot for any body to handle.  For a “normal” weight person, it may not have been so long.  For me, it was long.  My body was overworked.  My body was tired.  During my recovery period, my blood pressure rose to the point I had to be put on blood pressure medication.  Unfortunately, my PCP dosed me too high too fast and caused some heart freak out.  Yet another ER visit.  Another reminder of what needed to be done. 

It is true when they say you choose your hard.  Losing weight is hard.  Being overweight is hard.  You chose your hard.  I have to continually chose my hard, and believe me, it is hard.  Every day is a choice.  But here I am….a year and a half after choosing what hard road I will walk the rest of my life. 

Q:  What do you want this blog to do for you and what’s in it for me?
A:  This blog is still a form of therapy for me.  A place to say what I am doing and where I am at with things going on in my quirky brain.  I love to share things to help people on their journey, whether it be recipes, techniques, ideas, a new product, some insight, or just a chuckle.  I hope you find some gems here and there.  Everything I share might not be your bag, and that is totally cool.  Take what you want, leave the rest.   I will be sharing the recipes that I eat now.   They will be MY version of healthy.  Keto, low-carb, sugar free, but always delicious!  I do not eat only as a way to lose weight, but for my over all health and nourishment.  I am not going to erase my past not-so-healthy recipes.  Like my weight, it is part of my past.  You can bet there will be some re-vamping of old favorites!

So, long story short, I'm back!  Stay tuned for awesomeness, deliciousness, and all the other "ness's".  If there is anything else you are dying to know, drop me a line or find me on Facebook!

Hugs and sugar free kisses to you - xoxo