I think my love affair with pumpkin began at the ripe age of two, when my mother lovingly dressed me as a plump orange gourd for Halloween.
(there is photo documentation of this somewhere in my mom’s house…all the way across the country, thank goodness!)
Or maybe it started a few years later, when I began participating in the annual pumpkin pie-eating contests at our neighborhood Halloween party.
Princess pie-eater. ;-p
But then again, maybe I really fell for pumpkin when I tasted pumpkin ice cream for the first time at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival.
for you, Katie 
Even though I’m unsure about the exact point in my life when I became pumpkin’s cheerleader, I am certain about these five pumpkin facts:
1) Pumpkin is a wonder/super/power food
2) Pumpkin makes deliciously moist (I know some of you loooove that word! ) baked treats
3) Pumpkin cans should be in your pantry at all times. If that’s not the case, go to the store right now because you’re missing out. Big time.
4) Pumpkin stars magnificently in not just pie, but in protein cake.
cinnamon pumpkin cake topped with protein icing and decorative granola
5) One of the pumpkin cans in your pantry (or future pumpkin cans) should go directly into this cake.
**Warning**If you choose to bake it, make sure somebody is in the house with you the next few days to help you consume it.
Otherwise you might end up eating the entire thing by yourself in less than 72 hours.
As I may or may not have done. ;-p
Another option is to share it with bodybuilders at your gym, as I’m planning to do today.
They’ll love it. And they’ll love you.
***Cinnamon Pumpkin Protein Cake***
adapted from Jamie Eason’s Live Fit recipes
½ C xylitol***
1 – 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce (or 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce)
1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. salt
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I prefer Sunwarrior or Tera’s Whey)
½ cup almond milk
½ C chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (optional) <—I didn’t use, but will try in the future
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
- Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
- Makes 24 squares.
Nutrition information for 2 squares: 120 calories; 9 grams protein; 1.5 grams fat
**Note** This was the first time I’d ever baked with xylitol. <—-Click on the link to learn all about this natural sweetener.
Two interesting facts I learned about xylitol:
- Contains 40% fewer calories than sugar (but doesn’t have the bitter aftertaste often found in stevia or Splenda)
- Has been shown to help prevent tooth decay.
I’d definitely like to start incorporating it into more of my cooking!
If you don’t have xylitol, you can substitute regular sugar, stevia or another sweetener of your choice. 
***************
In somewhat related news: Remember those bodybuilders I mentioned I’d be giving cake to today?
Well, that’s only happening because I’m schooling them in the weight room and think that a piece of cake might help restore their bruised egos. (Mehehe).
You see, last week I started a 12-week program called Live Fit with Jamie Eason.
(Who thinks I’ll look like her in three months?)
If the soreness in my muscles is any indication, You betcha, I will!
I love the Live Fit program because it works one or two different muscle groups HARD each day, while allowing for ample rest time the remaining of the week. However, because I have a hard time gaining muscle in my arms, I’m trading one lower body day for an extra upper body day.
Yesterday’s bicep/back blast went like this:
Wide grip Lat Pull Down: 3 sets of 12 reps
One-Arm Dumbbell Row:3 sets of 12 reps
Seated Cable Row: 3 Sets of 12 reps
Underhand Cable Pulldown: 3 sets of 12 reps
Alternating Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets of 12 reps
One-Arm Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets of 12 reps
Standing Biceps Cable Curl: 3 sets of 12 reps
I finished up my lifting with a 20 minute HIIT session on the treadmill.
And refuled with this once I arrived home…
Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie
More pumpkin? Yep! I just can’t get enough.
(Recipe coming soon!)
If you lift weights, do you tend to gain muscle faster in one area of your body over another?
I definitely do! In fact, I don’t even need to lift weights to gain leg muscle! They just grow themselves! When I was a competitive soccer player, I had thunder thighs. My arms are a completely different story though. They’ve always been a bit scrawny!
