Low-Carb Friendly Pumpkin Muffin!

Low-carb lifestylers, rejoice! Now you can have your cake and eat it, too. 

Okay, so it's really a muffin, but let's not split hairs. Especially when it satisfies those pumpkin cravings without knocking us off the low-carb wagon.

Best of all, you can whip this up in no time for a luscious afternoon snack.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 flat tablespoon 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 2 heaping tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon vanilla OR 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons golden flax meal
• 1 tablespoon almond flour (if you don't have almond flour, you can use 3 tablespoons of the flax meal)
• 3/4 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 5-6 teaspoons Truvia, separated (you can use more or less, depending on your tastes. If you use another artificial sweetener, adjust according to your personal taste)
• 1 generous tablespoon pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Put cream cheese, yogurt, vanilla or lemon juice (I prefer lemon juice because it gives the frosting a less intense taste and, to me, tastes more like cream cheese frosting) and 2-3 teaspoons sweetener into a small bowl.

Mix until smooth and set aside. This gives the sweetener a chance to dissolve.

Now grab yourself a nice size mug, crack the egg into it and whisk with a fork.

Then add your flax meal/almond flour, pie seasoning, baking powder, sweetener to taste (I usually use about 3 teaspoons/packets), pumpkin and coconut oil and whisk until everything is incorporated.

Place mug in microwave and cook on high for 60-70 seconds. You can also bake it in a ramekin or divide batter between two holes of a regular size muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Those methods would probably make for a prettier muffin, but since I'm an instant gratification kind of girl, I usually go for the microwave. Besides, even in the micro, it still comes out with a nice, cakey texture.

**Note: My microwave is 1100 watts, so if yours differs, you'll need to adjust the time accordingly.

Once done baking, dump your muffin(s) onto a plate...

I like to cut mine in half before topping it with the frosting.

And I love that there's an ample amount of frosting, so that no bite is without.

Sorry I haven't been around the cafe much, lately. I'm still battling that overwhelmed feeling I talked about last week and have been avoiding the computer like the plague. 

I must be craving simpler times, because I've taken to listening to the Traditional Christmas station on Pandora. What could be more soothing than the croons of Perry Como, Bing Crosby and Andy Williams. Just a few of the many reasons I love this time of year. And for the rest of the year, yes, I have the Perry Como station on Pandora, too. :)

I wish they'd air all their old Christmas specials. Man, I used to love those things. Looked forward to them every year. I did see some of the old Andy Williams ones on PBS a year or so ago. What a treat for this sentimental soul.

Did y'all grow up watching Christmas specials? If so, who/what were some of your favorites?