Vegan Mango Coconut Muffins (Whole Wheat)

According to Rich these are the best muffins, vegan or otherwise, I have ever made.  They are light and sweet. The crumb topping is something I don't often do, but it is a nice treat. The pieces of mango keep the muffins moist and add their sweet, tropical flavors. The coconut gets nice and crisp on top. 

These muffins are also incredibly quick and simple to make. It was a hot day when I made them and I was in and out of the kitchen quickly. 

Cook Time: 45 min

Yield: 1 dozen muffins

Recipe: Inspired by The Bakerita

      Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour. 

1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 large banana mashed

3/4 cup of soy or almond milk 

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup of fresh mango peeled and cut into small 1/2 inch pieces

  Toppings 

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup oats

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons shredded coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease 1 muffin tin with vegan butter. 

2. Combine the dry ingredients (flour-baking powder) in a large bowl. 

3. Combine the wet ingredients (oil-vanilla) and whisk together until well combined. If your coconut oil is hard, you can whisk it separately to help it turn into oil. You could also leave it on the stove while it is pre-heating.

4. Add the wet and dry ingredients together, stirring until well combined. 

5. Fold in the chopped mango. Make sure your mango is not too large or it will break apart the muffins. After I took the picture below, I had to cut the mango again to make it smaller.

 6. In a small bowl, combine flour, coconut, and oats.

7. Mix in coconut oil and vanilla (for this phase, you want the oil to be a little hard because it will help to form the crumbs).

 8. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin tins.

9. Add the crumb topping to each of the muffins.

10. Bake for 22-25 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, or until a knife comes out clean. 

11. Let the muffins cool for about 7 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. 

 11. Enjoy with a little jam, soy milk, or tea.

Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

We were pretty much out of food last Friday before going out of town, hungry, and too tired to go to the grocery store. I decided I would make something with the few ingredients I had in my house. First, I tried avocado muffins with the two overripe avocados I had in my house. They turned out to be beyond overripe. I had already mixed the dry ingredients and so I needed to figure out a recipe I could make with that. I opted for banana muffins, then Rich suggested I put peanut butter in them. They came out great!

The muffins were moist and slightly dense. They tasted like banana bread with a hint of peanut butter. They made a great dinner and pre-running snack the next morning.

This recipe was really quick and easy, assuming you don't try to make them with avocados first. Let me know how yours come out!

Recipe
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 bananas
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup soy milk

Method 
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and cinnamon) together in a small bowl.
3. Mash the bananas and place them in a large bowl.
4. Add the remaining ingredients, besides the soy milk, to the mixture. Using an electric mixture, beat for about 1 minute.
5. Add half the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup of soy milk, mix again with the electric mixer.
6.  Mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of soy milk until all is well combined.
7. Grease muffin tins or use muffin papers. Place about 1/4 cup of batter in each muffin cup.
8. Bake for about 22 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
Yield: About 2 dozen muffins

Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

This weekend I visited Serendipity Bed and Breakfast upstate. The owner made us baked oatmeal which was amazing! I decided to try to make my own the next day. I added apples, cinnamon, and pecans. It was delicious! A word of warning, this recipe does have eggs in it. Hey, it was the weekend. Sometimes I am not completely vegan on the weekend (in fact this weekend I was definitely not vegan). I will try to make a vegan version in the future. In the meantime, this recipe was sweet, crunchy, and it made a filling breakfast.



Recipe

3 cups oatmeal

2 tsps cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

2 eggs

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup raisins

½ cup pecans

2 granny smith apples 

Method

1. Combine oatmeal, cinnamon, cloves, and baking powder in large bowl.

2. In a small bowl combine milk, whisked eggs, and sugar. 

3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients until combined. 

4. Mix in raisins, pecans, and granny smith apples. 

5. Place in a greased 9 in square baking dish (I like to use Earth Balance). 

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes. 

7. Serve warm!

8. Mix in raisins

Vegan Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I wanted to make a different variation of my usual Whole Grain Bread recipe. I made a cinnamon raisin bread that came out delicious! It was not as sweet as most cinnamon breads, which I really liked. The jumbo raisins and molasses provided a more subtle, natural sweetness.  The whole wheat flour made it hearty and healthy. It is best served warm. We couldn't stop eating this bread!

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk (almond milk also works)

2/3 cup water

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp molasses

1/2 tsp salt (you can use a little more if you like saltier bread)

1/4 tsp cloves

2 tsp cinnamon 

3 ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup old fashion oats

1 cup of jumbo raisins

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

Method

1. Place the wet ingredients in the bread machine

2. Add flour, oats, and raisins. Make sure the raisins are separated (sometimes they stick together). 

3. Make a hole in the flour (see picture above) that is not too deep to touch the liquid.

4. Add the dry yeast in the hole. This is to keep the yeast from rising if you are setting your bread maker to start a little later. I love to set it for 3 hours before I wake up so I wake up to the smell!

5. Set your bread maker on the “whole wheat” setting.

6. Try to wait patiently for 3-4 hours, depending on your bread maker. Let cool for 15 minutes.

We used this bread to make tempeh reubens. The sweetness really added to the flavor. It was also great when warm with vegan cream cheese. 

Vegan Spring Recipes!

Flowers at the Prospect Park Farmers Market

Spring is here and instead of root veggies I want more fresh greens and fruit. I am officially ready to move into my spring recipes and say goodbye to my winter recipes until next year. Below are some of my favorite spring recipes. I will continue to add to them so stay tuned for more.

Vegan Spring Salad
This salad if full of spring veggies. The radishes, broccoli, cucumber, celery, and snow peas add a lot of crunch to a salad of mixed greens.








Get Your Greens Smoothie
This is one of my all time favorite smoothies. The
spinach and pineapple give it a sweet flavor while the kale adds a little earthy taste. I could eat this smoothie every morning!

Pesto!
Nothing says warm weather is coming like some fresh pesto. This pesto is flavorful and goes great on bread or your favorite pasta.

Pita Pizza

These pesto pizzas are light and go great with a nice big green salad. They are also quick and easy so you can spend more time outside enjoying the warmer weather.











No Bake Strawberry Pie
This is one of my all time favorite desserts. It is incredibly healthy, low in sugar, and very fresh tasting.

Baked Pineapple Tempeh
Pineapple Tempeh goes great with a fresh green salad or as a side. The sweet pineapple reminds you that winter is ending and sweeter fruits and on their way.

Get Your Greens Smoothie

My favorite breakfast in the morning is a good green smoothie! When I eat a green smoothie, I have a better day. I feel like I got my greens in early, I get lots of vitamins, and they are so tasty! This smoothie is my favorite so far. First of all, I think pineapple makes any smoothie better by adding its tropical sweetness. The kale brings an appreciated earthy flavor. The spinach is actually a little sweet and brings a nice fresh flavor. Finally, the banana brings a smooth consistency. I am already looking forward to my next one tomorrow!
 
Ingredients
3/4 cup kale
3/4 cup spinach
1 large banana
2 cups pineapple (or another fruit)
2 cups soy milk

Kale and spinach

 Method
1. Throughouly rinse kale and spinach.
2. Remove stems from the kale (otherwise you will get yucky chunks in your smoothie).
3. Blend kale and spinach in a food processor or blender until finely chopped.
3. Add banana and blend again.
4. Add pineapple or any other frozen fruit and blend again.
5. Slowly add the soy milk and blend again.
6. Serve cold!

What kind of smoothie is your favorite?