Vegan Bran Muffin Recipe

This recipe is vegan.  Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Vegan Bran Muffins (6)

I tried this recipe for the first time the other day and loved it!  These muffins are moist and delicious any time of day!

Here’s the website I got this recipe from: http://plantfueled.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/recipe-whole-wheat-low-fat-vegan-bran-muffins/

At first I was a bit skeptical.  I’ve tried vegan recipes before and have often been disappointed and left with that ‘it just doesn’t taste the same’ feeling.  This recipe surprised me so I thought I would share it here.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!  

Ingredients:

– 3 cups wheat bran

– 2 cups non-dairy milk (I used almond, but you could use rice, etc. – I wouldn’t recommend soy as it’s an estrogen mimicker and can throw your hormone balance off)

– 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I made my own but store-bought is fine as well, just try to get one without all the additives)

– 1/2 cup molasses (I used a combination of molasses and honey when I made these, but then it’s not considered vegan, so do with it what you will 😉 )

– 3 teaspoons ground flax seeds

– 2 teaspoons baking soda

– 2 teaspoons baking powder

– 1 teaspoon salt

– 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

The original recipe also called for 1 1/2 cups of raisins; I left these out as I prefer my bran muffins raisin-less, but it’s up to you.

Here are the instructions straight from the original website:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. Mix wheat bran and milk in a bowl. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. You want it to get reallymushy and gross.

3. Add in applesauce, molasses, and flax. Mix. Add in baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Mix until all flour is moistened. Fold in raisins. This will be very thick…more like cookie dough than muffin batter:

4. Pour into muffin pans. I use silicone, so I don’t have to grease them. If you are using metal, than either grease of use muffin liners.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. To see if they are done, insert toothpick. It should come out clean. If not, put them back in the oven for a minute or two.

Vegan Bran Muffins (13)

I found the batter wasn’t really any thicker than typical muffin batter…maybe it was just because I didn’t add the raisins…?  There’s enough batter to fill 12 muffin cups and they work out to be nice and large (but not hugely jumbo).  Happy baking! 

Gluten-Free Waffles

Gluten-Free Waffles

I just made these waffles this morning and they were delicious!  The oat flour gave them a nice, chewy texture and they were very filling – the perfect complement to a lazy Saturday morning. 🙂

Generally I’m a big topping fanatic, but these were actually good without anything on them, and they were so easy to make.  If you want to make them dairy-free, you can use a milk substitute, such as rice, almond, etc.

I found this recipe at: http://www.girlmakesfood.com/ridiculously-awesome-oat-waffles/

They’re pretty healthy, too, considering that they’re mostly oat, they don’t have any sugar (maple syrup is used as a sweetener) and you can substitute non-dairy milk for regular milk.  They also use coconut oil instead of butter, which is a superfood that has countless beneficial properties.  You can check out this site for more info on why coconut oil is so good for you.

So, here’s the recipe…

 

Basically, you just mix together the following ingredients and spoon the batter into your pre-heated waffle iron…then, when ready, top with whipped cream, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, sprinkle them with cinnamon, and drizzle some maple syrup on top!  Yum!  (Or you could top them with YOUR favourite fruits and toppings…I guess it’s up to you 🙂 )

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups Oat Flour*

-1 Tbs Baking Powder

-Pinch of Salt

-2 Eggs

-1 cup Milk – dairy or nondairy (I used dairy, but according to the site I got the recipe from nondairy works well too)

-2 Tbs Maple Syrup (the maple syrup gives the waffles a divinely sweet hint to them)

-2 Tbs Coconut Oil

 

*I made my own oat flour (the original recipe suggests this as well) by grinding 2 cups of oats in a food processor.  I left mine a bit chunkier than regular oat flour because I wanted the added texture, but it would probably be a bit more like regular waffle batter consistency if you were to grind the oats finer.  Depends on how much chewing you want to do. 🙂

 

 

Raw Oatmeal

Okay, so we’ve all been taught that oatmeal is healthy, right?  But is there a way to make it even healthier?  One suggestion is to eat it raw.  Instead of cooking all the nutrients out, you can simply soak the oatmeal overnight and have it ready for the next morning – perfectly quick, perfectly nutritious, perfectly raw.  Just add the same amount of water as oatmeal – a 1:1 ratio (1 cup of oatmeal = 1 cup of water).  Top it with your favorite fruit and spices and drizzle on a healthy sweetener like maple syrup – yum!