1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup AP flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 ½ – 2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt
1 cup pumpkin
1 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 egg whites
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp flax seed, dissolved in 4 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2  medium apples, peeled and diced (I used Michigan Ida Red)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Peel and chop your apples. Toss them in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of flour to coat. Set aside. (Coating them with flours ensures that they won’t sink to the bottom of the muffins.)
Pour 2 tbsp of flax seed into a small bowl. Pour 4 tbsp of water on top to dissolve.
Mix together your flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside
In a large bowl, whisk your egg whites just enough to break them up. Add the sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, flax, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir just until moist, try not to over mix!
Fold in the apples.
Divide into muffin tins lined with papers, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

The entire batch of muffins has 2150 calories in it. If you divide your batter into 20 muffins, that’s only 108 calories per muffin! My batch made 16 regular sized muffins, and 16 mini muffins.

When I went to make these muffins, I realized I only had about ¼ cup of AP flour, so I used that, plus 1 ¾ cups of whole wheat flour. They still turned out moist and delicious! When my husband went for these muffins, I warned him that they were healthy and that he wouldn’t like them. He ate one, and said it was pretty good, just missing the butter. lol! Not a bad compliment from him. Charlie and Emma loved them, too. Charlie devoured 2 mini muffins in minutes!

If you’re someone who enjoys your frappuccino’s as much as I do, you’ll love this recipe! I found a way to make Starbuck’s Caramel Frappuccino with half the calories! And none of the richness is sacrificed. The secret to it’s richness? Using frozen milk cubes! Instead of using ice cubes (which are terrible to try to grind up in your blender!) I use frozen milk cubes. They break up so much easier, and make such a smooth and rich frappe (with no chunks of ice that get stuck in your straw). So next time you’re about to throw out milk that’s about to expire, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it! I like to keep a ziplock of milk cubes in my freezer at all times, so I can have a rich, creamy frappuccino at any time!

Recipe:
6- 1 oz. fat free milk cubes (a standard ice cube tray will freeze 1 oz. cubes, but you may want to measure if you’re watching your waist line!)
4.5 oz. of cold brewed coffee (or chilled coffee or espresso)
1 ½ oz. (3 tbsp) Coffeemate Fat Free Vanilla Caramel Creamer

Freeze fat free milk into 1 oz. cubes the night before.
Brew your coffee or espresso, and chill in the fridge.
Add your coffee, 6 milk cubes, and creamer to the blender and pulse until smooth.
Pour into a glass, and enjoy!

Calorie Count:
67.5 calories from the fat free milk
75 calories from the creamer
0 calories from the coffee

Compare:
Starbucks 12 oz.Caramel Frappuccino: 290 calories
My 12 oz. Skinny Caramel Frappuccino: 142.5 calories

My Frozen Caramel Espresso Shots seemed to be a big hit! I realize though, that they’re full of sugar (and delicious caramely goodness), and some of us would like a healthier alternative. I revised my original recipe to be much lower in calories, about 10 calories per shot! Now they can be enjoyed as often as you want; guilt free.

Recipe:
4 oz. of espresso (or strong coffee)
1 ½ oz. (3 tbsp) Coffee Mate fat free vanilla caramel creamer.

Brew your espresso.
Mix in the creamer.
Pour into ice cube trays (or a silicone mold, must be flexible).
Put your filled molds into the freezer, checking on them after about an hour – hour and a half. Once the espresso shots are completely iced over, stick tooth picks in them.
Wait until they’re frozen through, at least 5 hours, preferably over night.
To unmold, gently twist your ice cube tray, and they should pop right out.
Store in an airtight bag in your freezer.
Makes 8-10 shots.