Autumn Spice Muffins with Walnut Crumble, THM S

Struggling to find a low carb muffin recipe you enjoy? These spice muffins are what you need!

Ok, doesn’t this picture look just like a ‘normal’ muffin?

Well guess what? They are low carb, sugar free, and can be enjoyed without all the negative impact of muffins made from white flour and other ingredients that are completely lacking in nutrients.

These muffins have a delicious fall spice flavor and are topped with chopped walnuts that are tossed in cinnamon and sweetener. They remind me of a sour cream coffee cake in muffin form!

What’s in your muffin?

I used to make muffins all the time back before I started eating healthy. Some of my favorites were bran muffins that were loaded with dates and seeds or spiced carrot flax muffins.

Back then, I actually thought these recipes were healthy. They had things like wheat bran, flax, and carrots. I would cut back on the sugar or use organic sugar, and feel like I was eating a healthy breakfast.

And while these muffins were certainly better than ones made completely with white flour and sugar, they were far from truly healthy.

It is so easy to go down the trap of thinking something is a good food choice just because of its name or because it is pushed as being good for you. Bran muffins? Yogurt? Granola? These things have got to be good, right?? They just SOUND so healthy!

In reality, we have to be doing the work to check ingredients and nutrition labels and not just assume something is healthy. Yes, granola, yogurt and muffins CAN all be healthy. But often they are so loaded with sugar you might as well just be eating a doughnut.

Don’t be fooled by the name or what something says on the front of the package! Check those ingredients!

How is the food you’re eating impacting your blood sugar?

Diabetics aren’t the only people who need to think about blood sugar levels. This is something we ALL need to be aware of! Maintaining an even blood sugar is in my opinion the most important thing you can do for your health.

When your blood sugar is at an even level cravings will disappear, mood and skin will improve, and weight will drop off.

The problem with those muffins I used to make in the old days is that even though they had many healthy ingredients, they still were not kind to my blood sugar! Things like dried fruit, whole wheat flour and cane sugar can easily have a negative impact on sugar levels, especially if they are all in the same recipe!

So how do I keep my blood sugar in safe levels?

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be pricking yourself to check your blood sugar, or anything extreme! All it takes is being willing to invest in your health and implement a few simple strategies.

A great place to start is obviously cutting out sugar! Use natural, low carb sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit or xylitol. These sweeteners are amazing because you can still enjoy sweet treats like these spice muffins, without spiking your blood sugar!

White flour and refined carbohydrates are also a no-no. In fact white flour can spike your blood sugar just as fast as sugar! Replace these foods with slow burning carbohydrates like rolled oats, sweet potatoes, whole fruit, beans and legumes.

On the Trim Healthy Mama plan, we keep carbohydrates in our meals to around 45 grams. This gives us fuel and energy, but doesn’t spike blood sugar.

Take a look at a package of dried fruit sometime and see just how little you would have to eat to be over 45 grams of carbs. It is an eye opener! Even though things like dried fruit once again sound healthy, they can be very concentrated forms of sugar! It is always best to consume food in its whole, unprocessed state.

Have you struggled finding a low carb muffin you enjoy?

I personally have not been overly impressed with many of the low carb muffins I’ve tried.

Don’t get me wrong, they TASTED good. But the texture was usually very heavy and not at all like a normal fluffy muffin.

Obviously, low carb baking is not going to be exactly the same as regular baking. But I think it should be at least fairly close!

If you want a muffin that makes you feel as if you are eating a naughty one, you have to try these spice muffins! They are the closest to a regular muffin of any I have made.

They have a light crumb that is not at all dense, and when you peel off the wrapper, they look just like a muffin should, lol. If you have dabbled in low carb baking at all, you know what I mean!

Low carb baking can be harder to adjust to

When you are new to low carb and sugar free eating, I feel baking can be the hardest adjustment. At least it was for me.

There are many incredible sugar free candies and no bake goodies, but baking is all about that crumb and texture.

I used to not even make cakes because I felt the texture just wasn’t close enough for it to be worth it. I’m not sure what has changed but I am finally starting to appreciate low carb baked goods!

Maybe I’ve been eating this way long enough that I’m starting to forget what regular baking is like lol. At any rate, the difference between normal and low carb baking is getting less and less to me, and recipes like these muffins taste pretty crazy awesome!

My goal is that every baking recipe I post on this blog is close enough to the real thing that you have zero regrets about not eating regular cakes and muffins anymore!

One small note about the yogurt in this recipe

I call for either 0% Greek yogurt or sour cream here. Either one works well and there isn’t really a difference.

I like to use the yogurt if I have it since it cuts back on the fat a bit. I never like to add extra fat if it isn’t necessary! Especially when using ingredients like almond flour that already are more calorie dense. But if you don’t have Greek yogurt around, sour cream is a great option.

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