This “no-animal-fat-until-5-PM” experiment I’ve been working on has been really interesting. According to Livestrong calculations, I’ve suddenly increased my fiber intake by 50% – and my cholesterol is about 20% of what it used to be. That’s probably because I’ve been actively seeking out vegan recipes. Eating vegan takes some time though – lots of veggies to chop, extra runs to the natural food store for ingredients I wouldn’t have had in the house before – and I’ve been looking for things I can make ahead.
Oh, and to complicate matters more, it’s winter – not exactly the time for local produce here in PA. Environmental concerns prick at my conscience when gorging on luscious fruit that had to travel farther than Christopher Columbus to reach me! So after reading a million recipes, I’ve come up with one my kids love, totally vegan, using frozen fruit – which is largely domestic, and just as healthy as fresh, according to Mark Bittman! You can be eating these in under an hour!
Col’s Dead-of-Winter Vegan Fruit Muffins
1 cup sliced frozen peaches
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 cups all-purpose flour (healthier with 1/2 whole wheat, but not as yummy)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
4 oz unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Toss fruit with 2 tbsps flour. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix together wet ingredient in a large measuring cup. Pour all at once into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in fruit. Use ice cream scoop to put batter into 18 muffin cups. Top with almonds, if desired. Bake in a 350 degree oven until brown, 25-35 minutes.
Enjoy!
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Hmm, sounds absolutely delicious. It contains a few ingredients that would be a little hard to find (the fruit, canola oil??, almond milk) but maybe I can come up with a variation on this. I love muffins A LOT but don't make them very often, somehow.
ReplyDeleteInteresting project you're doing - does it make you feel healthier?
I'm not vegan, but those muffins look amazing! My kids would love those, too!
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious and I really appreciate that they are vegan - really good vegan muffins are hard to come by!
ReplyDeleteThey look delicious! So I have to ask - do you feel better on this diet?
ReplyDeleteLeeswammes -- Fresh fruit would work just as well as frozen. For the canola oil you could substitute any neutral oil -- maybe corn oil? And for almond milk, any non-dairy milk. My family doesn't like soy milk, but we've used coconut milk and oat milk, they all work.
ReplyDeleteCarol -- I never told my girls they were vegan, and they and their friends loved them.
TheBookGirl -- I've heard that The Joy of Vegan Baking is great, but I don't own it yet, so I've been testing internet recipes for now.
Amused -- I've lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks without even trying -- and I've noticed I have more energy. So I think it's a success so far. I'm definitely getting all those veggie servings in!
ReplyDeleteWow these look and easy. I would use half white wheat flour and rice milk, but otherwise I'll have to give these a try. Yummmers.
ReplyDeleteBeth F -- You're right about the whole wheat, but I have one finicky daughter that wouldn't eat them, so I gave up. I've been thinking of trying a hazelnut milk/peach combo -- kind of like that old cocktail, the Baci Ball, in a muffin. I'll report back.
ReplyDeleteWhat could be better than blueberries and peaches together? Yummy!
ReplyDeleteKathy -- It's a great combination, but lots of others would work just as well, I think! I can't wait to start making them with fresh fruit.
ReplyDeleteThose sound like delicious muffins! I love those fruits in it -- fresh or frozen.
ReplyDeleteJoy -- Good and flat out easy! That's the best part!
ReplyDeleteThese look awesome! I'm definitely going to give them a try. Your experiment sounds like it's going great. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant recipe, and the ingredients are all that my supermarket & organic foodstore carry :) I'm vegetarian but try to cook vegan as often as I can. The benefits show, even on your “no-animal-fat-until-5-PM” experiment :)
ReplyDeleteMarie -- Thanks, it has been going well. I'm really looking forward to the Farmer's Market opening again.
ReplyDeleteChinoiseries -- Last year, for the first time, everything I prepared for our annual Cinco de Mayo party was vegetarian, and none of our guests noticed the lack of meat! I think vegan would be harder, but part-time vegan is certainly doable. I needed some cookbooks though, to learn how to cook without cheese!
I wouldn't think to put that much fruit in a muffin. I will have to give these a try . thanks.
ReplyDeleteThese healthy muffins sound awesome; thanks for the recipe Col.
ReplyDeleteI am slowly returning back to my vegan ways so this recipe of yours looks incredible! I'm totally starring this post in my Google Reader!
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