Pumpkin Donuts with Pumpkin Glaze

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If you read labels you might see ingredients like oligofructose and inulin starting to show up on food packages. These 2 words are called 'prebiotics' in the nutrition world. Prebiotics are non-digestible foods that make their way through our digestive system and help good bacteria grow and flourish. Prebiotics keep beneficial bacteria healthy. They are found in small amounts in many plants. Plants with large amounts of oligosaccharides include chicory root. About 90% makes it past digestion in the small intestine and reaches the colon where it performs a different function: that of a prebiotic.

Just Like Sugar contains 96 grams of inulin fiber per cup! The ingredients of Just Like Sugar = Chicory Root, Calcium and Vitamin C.

Prebiotics help increase probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that help keep your digestive system healthy. The majority of my clients have malfunctioning digestive systems for a variety of reasons. Our typical 'Western' eating habits and stress can all negatively impact the ‘good bacteria’ in our gut. Probiotics are helpful micro-organisms that live in our intestinal tract. In a healthy body, good bacteria make up most of the intestines’ micro-flora and protect digestive health. If you have primarily good bacteria, your immune system will function optimally and it will help you extract essential nutrients in the foods you eat. In order to feed our cells, we need to absorb the nutrients from our food, otherwise our brain will keep telling us to eat until the cells are fed.

Here are the most common warning signs of a bacterial imbalance, if you suffer one or more of these problems it is quite likely that eating prebiotics and taking a probiotic supplement could help you get your ‘system’ back on the right track:
1. Allergies and food sensitivities
2. Difficulty losing weight, sugar/carbohydrate craving
3. Frequent fatigue, poor concentration
4. Frequent constipation or diarrhea
5. Faulty digestion, acid reflux and other gut disorders
6. Sleeping poorly, night sweats
7. Painful joint inflammation, stiffness
8. Bad breath, gum disease and dental problems
9. Frequent colds, flu or infections
10. Chronic yeast problems
11. Acne, eczema skin and foot fungus
12. Extreme menstrual or menopausal symptoms

There are many stresses and factors that can kill your 'friendly bacteria' every day. Here is a summary of some of the commonest good-bacteria-KILLERS:
1. Antibiotics
2. Birth control pills
3. Steroidal & hormonal drugs
4. Fluoride (added to toothpaste and sometimes to drinking water!)
5. Chlorine (added to water to kill bacteria...it kills friendly-bacteria too!)
6. Coffee/Tea
7. Carbonated drinks
8. Stress
9. Preservatives
10. Additives (colorings, flavorings and chemicals in processed foods)
11. Pesticides (choose ORGANIC fruit and veggies to avoid this!)
12. Fertilizers (choose ORGANIC fruit and veggies to avoid this!)

Our moods are directly correlated to the intestinal flora of our gut...the nervous system actually come from the gut to the brain; in the past scientists thought the nervous system ran the other way. This is why what we put in our stomach is so essential to our mental health. Having healthy intestinal flora; which you can achieve with probiotics and fermented foods, increase our moods and decrease our cravings. To read more on Probiotics and Cravings, check out my book Secrets to Controlling Your Weight Cravings and Mood.
So BRING on the JUST LIKE SUGAR! Click HERE to find the brown sugar version.

Great deals on Nut and Seed Flours

Great news!  If you use this link for your Nuts.com flour orders I can a little percentage that enables me to buy flours to experiment and make more great recipes!  So stock up on one of these great "Maria Approved" flours:

Almond Flour (I buy the 25 pound bag and keep extra in the freezer, only $4.29 a pound!)

Coconut Flour

Peanut Flour

Hazelnut flour

OR Pumpkin seed flour

Just Click HERE.  Thanks so much for your support! :)

Here is another donut recipe for those lazy Saturday mornings. Instead of grabbing a donut from the deli, try these.

1 ½ cups blanched almond flour

¼ tsp Celtic sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2 TBS Butter or Coconut Oil

½ cup Just Like Brown Sugar (or erythritol)

½ tsp stevia glycerite

3 large eggs

1 cup fresh OR canned pumpkin

In a mixing bowl combine almond flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix butter, sweetener, eggs and pumpkin until smooth. Stir wet ingredients into dry. Grease donut pan. Spoon batter into the pan. Bake at 325° for 30-40 minutes. Cool and serve with pumpkin glaze! Serves 6.

Click HERE to find cute donut pans! And click HERE for Mini Donut pans:)

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON:

Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Donut = 340 calories, 42 carbs, 1 fiber

"Healthified" Pumpkin Spice Donut = 198 calories, 7.7 carbs, 2.8 fiber

Pumpkin Glaze:

8 oz cream cheese or coconut cream

1/2 cup pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

3 TBS Just Like Brown Sugar or a few drops of stevia glycerite to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until smooth. Let sit for 4 hours or overnight...it will thicken up.