But being a vegan mom runs into my son's lifestyle as well. We are definitely watching what he eats to make sure he is getting all essential vitamins and minerals, but to have certain items in the house for just him is well, not practical. So, Rylen has obviously not had any meat yet. I'm not concerned. He is a good eater and will gobble up green beans, peas, broccoli, carrots, etc. So, with the beans & peas and the grains, that he absolutely loves, he is getting a complete protein daily that, most likely, has more nutrients than meat or milk itself.
With that in mind, I am always looking for a way to increase the intake of veges. That sent me on a recipe search for Vegan Veggie Muffins. I figured, Rylen loves breads, so if I could find a recipe that I could put veggies in too, well that would be a perfect food, snack, extra in his diet. Not to mention, if they are really good, Robby and I could eat them too! The whole family wins!
Well, this search was ENDLESS! I honestly could not find a recipe that was vegan and included whole grains and natural sugars. So, I had to do a little improv and the results were GREAT! They are definitely quite tasty and Rylen loves them! I even took one over to Stephanie Edmonds house and let Colter have a nibble.... the results? SUCCESS!
For all of you skeptics on a vegan recipe, I will include the items that I switched out. But you might want to try it the way I made it. There are lots of goodies in them!
Here is the recipe: (REVISED 9/5/08 due to dryness from use of applesauce and needed a little more sweetness)
Dry Ingredients
4 c. Whole Grain Flour (I used a 4-grain organic mix from HEB's bulk and blended it)
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Wet Ingredients
1/4 c. butter (I used a 4oz snack container of un-sweetened organic applesauce*)
3/4 - 1 c. honey (adjust to your likeness. I use Weaver's Local Honey)
1 egg (I used 1 banana instead)
3 c. pureed veggies (I used 1 sweet potato,1 carrot,1 zucchini, 1 bunch broccoli)
1 tsp. vanilla (Not imitation)
1 tsp. olive oil (helps with the dryness of the muffins)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine Dry Ingredients
Combine Wet Ingredients
Combine Dry & Wet Ingredients
Fill cupcake pans 2/3 full
Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick comes clean
NOTE: You can use any veggies, but it is best to use more sweet veggies and then one or two that aren't so sweet. So, you can include sweet peas, green beans, etc. The possibilities are endless!
*My first attempt at this recipe, I used virgin olive oil instead of the butter but found that I could use applesauce instead and that the oil can make them a bit dense and mushy on the inside. Though this didn't bother any of us, hopefully the applesauce will do better.
Let me know if you all try it and how it turns out!
5 comments:
sounds good I will have to try them- I'll tell Christopher that they are a a "surprise muffin" :)
I am so trying this for Kai. He does not like meat or veggies, just fruit and grains, and potatoes. I will let you know.
It takes a lot of discipline to do what you do. I could be lacto-ovo vegetarian. I do like meat but I just don't eat it all the time. Anyway, hats off to you for sticking to it! It is hard to do something that no one else is doing and feel like you have a strong support system. I know Robby is your biggest fan =0)!!!
As a side note: The batter itself is pretty tasty, so if you make it vegan, it can be used as a pretty healthy oatmeal. No cooking necessary and it will have veggies, grains & fruits in it!
Ok, please let me know how you all have done making the muffins. I had to make some adjustments on this round because using the applesauce instead of the oil made them VERY dry. I think I have the vegan version perfected now. On a side note, if you make it regular, i would suggest adding 1/2 - 1 banana anyway. The sweetness of the banana really helps. Anyway, I will make an adjustment to the recipe. The biggest change is with the honey content to 3/4-1 cup depending on how much sweeter you want it. I used 4oz of applesauce, added one more teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of olive oil just to help with the dryness. Other than that, the recipe is the same. Let me know if anyone tries coconut oil instead of olive oil. That might be a better oil to use. Though i'm not sure how that will affect the recipe. I'd love to hear of the variations... or if i'm the only crazy one that is obsessing over this. Keep in mind, Rylen has liked every version, this is just my taste. HA!
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