Breakfast

A Healthier Alternative to Special K, Frosted Flakes And Other Processed Sugary Cereals

April 9, 2012 by Veronica Grace 6 Comments

Who needs to eat Special K for breakfast every day for 2 weeks to lose weight? You certainly don’t have to. You can find any low sugar, low fat cereal of your choice, top it with some fruit and a little almond or soy milk and use that as a low calorie breakfast to start your day. Fresh fruit is always preferable, but you can add things like dried raisins, goji berries, sliced up apricots, prunes, figs etc. as well.

Sugary cereals were never healthy, they were just an excuse to get children and those concerned with fibre intake to eat some grains and get their servings of dairy in. If you’re vegan and still want to eat some cereal from time to time, make up a healthy one of your own. I have some organic corn flakes here (because they were low fat, low sugar and low salt) and dressed them up wish fresh sliced strawberries and served it with some original sugar free almond milk. I also like using sliced bananas, but I didn’t have any that were ripe. Raspberries or other berries work great too. This recipe is gluten free and soy free as well.

Homemade Special K – Corn Flakes With Fresh Strawberries and Almond Milk

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups organic corn flakes (low fat, low sugar, low salt)
1/2 cup fresh sliced strawberries
2/3-3/4 cup almond milk (I used Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original)

Directions:

Add cereal to a bowl. Top with strawberries, add almond milk and any additional fruits or sweeteners if desired.
If you want to add a sprinkle or brown sugar you can, or you could try the sweetened original version of almond milk if that’s more to your taste.

Enjoy!

The Best Low Fat Vegan Silken Tofu Omelette Recipe!

March 12, 2012 by Veronica Grace 27 Comments

I’m going to show you just how YOU can make a delicious vegan tofu omelette. I have to confess, this omelette looks WAY better than my first attempts at making vegan tofu omelettes. Making pancake-like things including crepes, omelettes, Indian dosas and Ethiopian injeera bread have all been things that were a little hard for me to get right at first. I realized the problem was my insecurity and lack of patience in making them! Once you tell yourself you can do it and just try it, it works out much better. And hey as long as it tastes good, it’s all that matters the first time!

Making this recipe does take a little bit of practice if you are:

1.) Inexperienced at pouring and flipping pancakes, crepes or omelettes in general

2.) Impatient and paranoid about the omelette sticking and burning to the pan and want to peek and move it around (which it will not, so do not panic and don’t touch it.)

These are things you must learn by experience and you have to accept that it will take a bit of practice being able to pour it, spread it, let it cook (and not mess with it!) and then fold it in half and slide it off the pan.

It took me about 3 cracks at this recipe before I got it right and learned to just trust the process of cooking and the tofu omelette was going to be fine, and stop panicking if it seemed stuck and trying to move it around with a spatula. Don’t do this.

I’ve now got it down pat and even made some for my mom and I over the Christmas holidays (it was her first vegan omelette ever) and she enjoyed it. I think she also enjoyed having some Daiya cheese and mushrooms in it too, but also the novelty of having something omelette-like as she’s been avoiding eggs.

This is a recipe I will make occasionally for a special vegan brunch or breakfast. It’s best for 2-3 people as it can take much much longer if you are trying to use multiple pans or cook for more people.

Tofu scrambles and tofu omelettes seem to take longer to cook than eggs (as they are not raw and drastically changing structure) so they are more forgiving and don’t really overcook. As long as it’s not turning black and you’re cooking it on medium or medium low heat it will be ok.

Also the trick to this is using silken tofu. Do not use regular tofu. You will NOT enjoy the flavour.

Like I said, I’ve made this recipe many times, I have adapted it from Susan V’s recipe at FatFreeVegan.com and made it even LOWER in fat and still delicious. I think I found the perfect vegan tofu omelette recipe! This omelette is gluten free as well!

Hurray!

Low Fat Vegan Silken Tofu Omelette Recipe

Serves 2-3 Makes 2 giant (full pan size) or 3 medium sized omelettes

Ingredients:

1 12.3 oz/349 g package FIRM Mori-nu silken tofu (must be firm or extra firm)
3 tbsp. almond or coconut milk
3 tbsp. of nutritional yeast
3 tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca starch
1 tsp. dijon mustard (essential)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. Herbamare or salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/8 tsp of smoked paprika (This makes it more delicious)

Filling:
fresh spinach
sauteed mushrooms
sauteed onions
any other desired toppings
vegan cheese *optional

Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients into a Vitamix or food processor and blend together until smooth.

2. Heat a wide shallow non-stick pan or non-stick crepe pan over medium heat. Make sure it’s very hot before using. Sprinkle a little water on it to test. If it bubbles off right away it’s ready. If not, wait until it’s really hot.

3. Pour batter onto pan about the size of a large pancake. Don’t pour too much or it will be hard to pick up and fold . Spread it out a little very gently into a circle using a small spatula. It will be quite thick, this is ok as there is a lot of air in the mixture. Don’t spread it out thinly.

4. Cook for at least 5 minutes until it almost dries out on top and sets. Turn the heat down to medium low. You have the option of flipping it over if you want the tofu to be cooked firm, or you can add your filling now to the bottom half and flip the top half of it over to cover and cook until the ingredients soften and your vegan cheese (if any) melts. I usually just cook it on one side only and then fill the bottom half.

5. When the omelette is cooked and sturdy enough to move, slide it onto a plate. If your fillings aren’t warm enough you can pop it into the microwave for 15-20 seconds to warm up and set the omelette a little more if necessary. The spinach will wilt from the heat of the cooked omelette.

6. Serve. (Be careful! The tofu will be very hot! Let it cool a bit before eating, I don’t want you to burn your mouth.)

Additional Tips:

Mori-nu silken tofu is sold at almost every store. Whether it’s a health food store or just a regular grocery store. Most commonly it is in the “health nut”/gluten free/vegetarian product section of the store with other dried goods. Sometimes it’s in the refrigerated section with tofu and fake meats, but it doesn’t have to be refrigerated so it’s usually in the dry goods section.

If you need a little extra water or milk to blend your tofu add another tbsp or two. Not much it still needs to be thick enough to set.

If your pan is not very good or tends to stick you may need a spray of non-stick spray. But if it’s a good pan, you’ll be ok. Give your pan a wipe with a wet paper towel in between omelettes and let it come back up to temperature again before making the next one. Make sure your pan is clean and doesn’t have black bits on it, or it will get on your omelette.

Practice makes perfect! Even if you mess up a little it will still taste good as long as you cooked it. Give yourself the first one and then save the nicer ones for your family.

If you have any leftover “batter” you can save it in the fridge for another day. Let it sit on the counter and warm up to room temperature before making.

Variations:

You can use any favourite omelette fillings for your vegan omelette. Get creative. Spinach and mushrooms are just my favourites. Make sure your veggies (aside from spinach) are cooked first before adding them to your omelette and season them a little so they will be delicious.

———

Here was my previous attempt where I kind of ripped it while flipping the top half over. It’s ok, it still tasted great!

Have you ever made a tofu omelette before? What are your favourite omelette fillings?

How To Cook Steel Cut Oats (Irish Oats) In a Rice Cooker Or On The Stove

January 29, 2012 by Veronica Grace 52 Comments

How To Make Steel Cut Oats In A Rice Cooker Or On The Stove with cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins

What Are Steel Cut Oats/Irish Oats?

Steel cut oats are whole grain oat groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into only two or three pieces horizontally. They are golden in color and resemble mini rice particles and are cylinder-like.

LivingPrepared has a good picture of rolled oats vs steel cut oats. Rolled oats are on the left, steel cut are on the right.

How do steel cut oats differ from rolled oats (old fashioned oats)?

Rolled oats a.k.a. old fashioned oats, are flake oats that have been steamed, rolled, re-steamed and toasted. Due to all of this additional processing they have lost some of their natural taste, nutrition and texture. They are just a more refined form. Most people get confused and think rolled oats are unprocessed and naturally come this way, and that instant oatmeal is the only oat that is processed. This is not quite correct. Rolled oats are still pretty processed and have undergone many treatments.

What is oatmeal or instant oatmeal then?

Instant oats are very processed compared to steel cut oats, they are pre cooked, dried and partially powdered with some flakes left. All you do is add hot water since they are already cooked and broken down. They usually come in packets with sugar and seasonings already in them.

This is why some people choose to eat only steel cut oats, or Irish oats as they are like the whole grain version of oats and the least processed.

Oatmeal Helps Lowers LDL (Bad) Cholesterol

Oatmeal is full of soluble fiber, which we know lowers LDL levels. Experts aren’t exactly sure how, but they have some ideas. When you digest fiber, it becomes gooey. Researchers think that when it’s in your intestines, it sticks to cholesterol and stops it from being absorbed. So instead of getting that cholesterol into your system — and your arteries — you simply get rid of it as waste.

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers tested cholesterol-lowering drugs against cholesterol-lowering foods in a group of thirty-four adults with high cholesterol. Oat products were among the chosen foods. The results were striking. The diet lowered cholesterol levels about as well as cholesterol drugs. WebMD

Even if you’re not eating cholesterol containing foods (all animal products contain cholesterol because only animals produce cholesterol, not plants) you can still lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol by eating oatmeal, which is helpful for some who still have high cholesterol on a vegan diet. The main reason some vegan diets don’t completely save you from having high cholesterol, is because of the amount of rich plant fats we tend to eat when compensating for a lack of meat and cheese. Salad dressing oils, battered or fried vegetables, fried snacks, vegan pastries and cakes, cookies, crackers etc. When you eat a lot of fatty foods this raises the amount of cholesterol you produce yourself, which is not good. So switching a high fat vegan meal to a low fat meal of oatmeal can make a big difference in your cholesterol numbers and health.

How much oatmeal do I need to cook for one person?

Steel cut oats can expand up to 4 times their dry size. For one person you can make about 1/4 cup for a single serving. When I’m making steel cut oats for my family, I usually make at least 1-1 1/2 cups because then there’s enough for everyone to have a satisfying breakfast. You can also save any leftovers and store it in the fridge for a quick breakfast the next day.

How To Cook Steel Cut Oats (Irish Oats) In a Rice Cooker

(For stovetop or microwave directions scroll down to the bottom)

To make your oats, you have to decide how thin you like them. I personally like mine a little thick, like in the picture, as opposed to a thin porridge, so I use a ratio of 3 parts water to 1 part oats. You can use a 4:1 ratio of water to oats if you like it thinner.

I have used several different types of rice cookers. At home I have a Zojirushi 5 1/2 cup rice cooker which has a lot of functions like white rice, brown rice, mixed rice, porridge and even a cake setting! It works awesome and I use the porridge setting for steel cut oats on it. What’s great about the Zojirushi is it has an internal programmable clock and you can tell it EXACTLY what time you want your rice/grain/porridge ready. So if you want to eat breakfast at 7 am, you set it for 7 am (in military time 07:00) and it will be ready to go at that time. Just do the process below, put the oats and water in and press start the night before and your breakfast will be hot and ready with no hassle the next day. If you’re a single or a couple they have a smaller version the Zojirushi 3 cup rice cooker as well.

I’ve also used this Hamilton Beach Digital Deluxe Rice Cooker that is great for a family on a budget, it has a white rice and a whole grain setting. I use the whole grain setting on this rice cooker for steel cut oats. It works a little differently, it has a delay timer. So what I do is set it so that it starts while I’m sleeping. If I go to bed at 11 pm and want to eat at 7 am, I would set the delay timer for about 5-6 hour delay. 5 hours for a large portion, 6 hours for a smaller portion (single size) and then it will start cooking when the delay timer hits zero and your oats will be ready for breakfast.

(Please do NOT put anything like dairy or animal products that should be refrigerated into a rice cooker overnight as this is a health risk. Only use water and dry grains when using a delay or programmed timer. So don’t add milk or cream to your oats and let it sit out all night, you can stir it in in the next morning before eating)

This is great for when you don’t have time to cook steel cut oats on the stove and want a quick breakfast.

Step 1: Measure out 1 cup of steel cut/Irish oats (or your desired amount). Pour it into a mesh strainer. Give it a rinse to clear any dust or debris. Pour it into the rice cooker.

Step 2: Measure out 3-4 cups of water (or your desired amount) and pour it into the rice cooker.

Step 3: Press the porridge/whole grain/brown rice setting (whichever setting your rice cooker has) and let it cook. It’s going to take a while to cook, similar to cooking brown rice. It should take about an hour to hour and a half depending how much you put in.

Step 4: Your steel cut oats are done and ready to season. You can add more water to thin if desired, add almond milk, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, sliced bananas, granola etc. Whatever you’d like to dress it up. This way you can control the amount of sugar in your oatmeal instead of eating the prepackaged instant oatmeal.

Step 5: Serve!

How To Make Steel Cut Oats In A Rice Cooker Or On The Stove with cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins

How To Cook Steel Cut Oats (Irish Oats) On The Stove:

Add your 1 cup of oats to 3-4 cups of water to a large pot and bring to a low boil over medium high heat. When it’s boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes and stir every few minutes to prevent sticking. Season as desired and serve.

Time saving tip: Boil 4 cups of water the night before and add 1 cup of dry steel cut oats. Stir and let it soak over night. In the morning put it into a pot and cook over low heat for 9-12 minutes until the oats are tender. Season as desired and serve. (If you use this method, disregard the method above)

How To Cook Steel Cut Oats (Irish Oats) In a Microwave:

I have not tried this method personally, but it should be really easy. Place 1/2 cup of steel cut oats into a large (at least) 8 cup microwave safe bowl (not metal) and pour 2 cups of water into it. Make sure you use a large bowl to prevent it from boiling over in the microwave. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Remove and stir and microwave on high for another 5 minutes. (Microwave times might vary depending on strength) Season as desired and serve.

What if I don’t have time to make steel cut oats every day?

The solution is pretty easy, just make a big batch and save the leftovers in individual portions in the fridge. If it’s for one person, multiply your recipe by 5 so you have enough for each day of the week. So you might use 1 1/4 cups to 2 cups of dry steel cut oats, depending if you’re a woman or a really athletic man. And then you cook it with 3-4 times the amount of water. Season it and then separate into containers. Then all you have to do is reheat it in the microwave the next day and add any additional water or non-dairy milk to thin it out, stir and eat. It’s a great time saver if you want to eat more whole foods, without having to rely just on instant oatmeal.

What do you think of this recipe? Have you made steel cut oats before? Are you going to try now?

Low Fat Vegan Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble With Veggies

January 18, 2012 by Veronica Grace 16 Comments

Low Fat Vegan Oil Free Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble With Mushrooms, Onions, Broccoli, Zucchini, Red Peppers

Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble With Mushrooms, Broccoli, Pepper and Zucchini

This is by far the best tofu scramble I have ever tasted, including at vegetarian restaurants. It is also the first scramble I have ever made personally. I was really going for something that would be savory and flavourful and have some colour and dynamic to it and not like a plain tofu only style scramble. I guess I wanted to go big or go home, and dove right in.

So I searched around and found great inspiration from my friend Malloreigh’s Semi Famous Tofu Scramble. She puts tons of veggies in her scramble, and I agree it works. So I have made this recipe below A LOT!!! I of course, took out the oil, switched to light coconut milk, and changed some of the seasonings to make this a low fat vegan chef (and Dr. Mcdougall) approved version. I think you will enjoy it just fine without the oil.

Every time someone wants a special breakfast, I make this. My mom and her husband even love it and they are new to tofu and not even vegan. If you’re used to eating eggs, let me tell you this tastes BETTER than eggs because it’s so flavourful, you will think salt and pepper eggs are boring next time you have them.

Some people might think ewh weird eating vegetables for breakfast, but everyone in Asia has soup and vegetables for breakfast, and even Americans have veggies for breakfast! Omelettes are often stuffed with veggies, and so are those potato egg skillet thingies at Denny’s lol. It’s not strange, it’s delicious. Try it! Potatoes do not have to be the lone breakfast veggie any longer.

Here’s my signature version of Tofu Scramble:

Low Fat Vegan Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble (with Broccoli, Zucchini, Pepper and Mushrooms)

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

1 package firm tofu, drained (pressed firm tofu is perfect too)
5 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp herbamare or salt, or to taste
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
1/2 cup light coconut milk (I use So Delicious SugarFree Original, use unsweetened only please)
1/2-1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups whole mushrooms, chopped (or about 1 -1/2 cups sliced)
1 small crown of broccoli, chopped into half florets
1/2 red pepper, sliced lengthwise and then in half
1/2-1 small zucchini, chopped in half moon thinly (thinner is better to cook faster)

Directions:

1. (Depending on your type of tofu you may or may not need to cut it first before pressing.) Cut tofu into 8 pieces if it’s hard to press with your hands. Squeeze out excess water with your hands or with a tea towel. Crumble tofu into a bowl. If your tofu is easy to crumble, I lay it on a clean tea towel and wrap it up and press all the water out and then crumble it into a bowl. I have used both styles of firm tofu, any firm tofu is good, just get the excess water out. Don’t use silken tofu for this.

2. Add the nutritional yeast, herbamare or salt, dijon mustard, maple syrup and half of coconut milk. Mix until combined.

3. Next sauté the diced onion dry in a non stick pan or wok over medium heat until soft. Trust me, it will not stick if you have a good non stick pan. (If you don’t have non stick, you can use vegetable broth to cook in) Add the garlic and mushrooms; stir and cook for about 3-4 minutes. (The mushrooms should release water and keep everything from drying out and sticking)

4. Add the crumbled tofu and cook, stirring or tossing gently for about 10-15 minutes. The tofu is very forgiving. You can basically cook the rest of your breakfast while stirring occasionally in your non stick pan without worry. If your non stick pan is not so great, you can add a little vegetable broth or water and in small amounts and keep stirring. You want the tofu to absorb the flavours and cook well without burning.

5. When your other breakfast stuff is almost ready (if you have any), add the broccoli, zucchini, red pepper, and the rest of the coconut milk, mix together and cover with a pot lid. Let it steam for about 5 more minutes until the broccoli is cooked and bright green. Don’t let it burn, add a little more liquid if needed if it’s really dry. You can use extra coconut milk or a bit of water.

6. Taste test and adjust seasonings if desired. You don’t want your tofu to be too wet, just wet enough that everything can cook and not stick to the pan. Serve right away. I like to eat mine with hash browns or my vegan banana pancakes.

Additional Tips:

Make sure your zucchini is sliced thin enough, you probably don’t want hard crunchy zucchini. If you cut it thicker you can add it right after the mushrooms and cook it with the tofu before you add the rest of the vegetables.

Cook your vegetables until they are the tenderness that you like. Try not to overcook them so the broccoli stays together and looks nice.

Variations:

You can change out any of the vegetables if you don’t like them, or don’t have them. It may sound weird having broccoli for breakfast but trust me, it is delicious and not weird! My family loves it. I think the essentials would be onions and mushrooms in this recipe. You could also throw some spinach in at the last minute to wilt if you like instead of broccoli or zucchini.

If you are feeding more people, you can just up the veggies in this recipe and spread out the scramble. I’ve done that and served 5 people a side serving before fine. If it’s just 2 of you, you can share it with some fruit, toast, pancakes etc and be stuffed!

Add some spiciness to the dish with some tobasco or chipotle chili powder if you want to heat it up.

Have you ever made tofu scramble before? What do you think of this recipe?

The Best Ever Plant Based Banana Pancakes! (Low Fat Vegan Pancakes)

December 4, 2011 by Veronica Grace 24 Comments

FTC Notice: this blog post contains affiliate links that go towards supporting the blog.

These plant based banana pancakes are HEAVENLY. If you love pancakes, bananas, banana bread or anything banana related you will love these! You can even see the steam coming off these babies! (I served them with a side of my Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble) I just made these DELICIOUS vegan pancakes for my non veg family this morning for a delicious vegan brunch. Everyone loved them! I was looking for a perfect fat free vegan pancake recipe and thought I’d give these ones a shot. They were amazing. I made a little modification to the original recipe and it turned out great. We served these yummy pancakes with real maple syrup from Quebec and topped it with fresh bananas and cinnamon. It was a really great brunch! My mom commented on how light and delicious the pancakes were and she felt they were much healthier, even though I first made them with white flour. I think it was the ground chia seed I added, but really you couldn’t see or taste them anyway. It’s also a great way to get a little chia into a typically not so healthy breakfast food. I hadn’t really made vegan banana pancakes before, but when I bit into these -wow. It sure reminded me of warm banana bread, which is one of my favourite treats ever. So I will definitely be making these again and again. It really REALLy depends on having perfectly ripe non-starchy (lots of brown spots) bananas. Make sure your bananas are ripe! Use bananas with lots of brown spots on them. The one on the right is the sweetest and ripest banana. The two on the left are just starting to get sweet enough. Lots of spots on your bananas make them much better for recipes. Give these a try this holiday season and no one will know it’s oil free or vegan! This plant based banana pancake recipe is an adaptation from Susan Voisin’s Fat Free Vegan Pancakes recipe on the Fat Free Vegan Website Vegan brunch at home can be easy once you have a few tasty recipes!

Low Fat Plant Based Banana Pancakes (Vegan and Oil-Free)

Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups/150 grams of flour (I use half white all-purpose flour, half whole wheat flour when making for my family. Use a good gluten-free flour if you like instead, one you know will hold together nicely and not crumble) 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or coconut sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon sea salt 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 cups/270-300 ml almond milk* (depending on how thin you want them) 1/2 tablespoon ground chia seed (or ground flaxseed or egg replacer) 2 tablespoons/30 ml water (to mix with ground chia/flaxseed or egg replacer) 1/3-1/2 cup diced ripe banana (see my ripe banana post if you are not sure) *To make this recipe nut free, substitute soy milk or oat milk for the almond milk. Tip: to combine ground chia with water, put water in bowl first and then sprinkle in chia and mix. If you pour water over the chia it can get clumpy and not mix properly. Directions: 1. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the almond milk, chia with water and bananas and stir just until flour is moistened. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes while skillet heats, and then stir gently one more time before using. Do not over mix. 2. Heat non-stick griddle or skillet over medium heat until drop of water sizzles. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle, making a few pancakes at a time. Cook until tops are bubbly and bubbles burst; edges will look dry. With pancake turner, turn and cook until undersides are golden. Place on warm platter; keep warm. 3. Repeat until all batter is used, spraying a little bit of non stick spray before each batch. Since they are oil free, this will be necessary to prevent any sticking. 4. Serve pancakes with maple syrup or fruit as desired. I also like to add some yummy ceylon cinnamon (this is sweet cinnamon, you can get it here) Variations: I also made another batch of blueberry vegan pancakes and put 1/2 cup of frozen wild blueberries in the batter. They were good, but the banana were the stand out pancakes this morning. Feel free to try both. I think wild blueberries work best as they are small and will keep it cooking evenly. Also if they are frozen when you add them, they won’t turn your batter purple! Additional Tips: To grind your own chia seeds, use a coffee grinder or a Vitamix and pulse the coffee grinder, or turn the Vitamix onto high until all the chia is ground into powder. It should take about a minute or two. Set aside into a container or plastic zipper bag and keep in the fridge or freezer until needed. This keeps it fresh and the nutrients intact longer. —- Serve with fruit, hash browns or my favourite Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble Give them a try! And let me know what you think of these vegan banana pancakes. What is your favourite kind of pancake?

Fat Free Vegan Pumpkin Raisin Muffins Sweetened With Maple Syrup

September 21, 2011 by Veronica Grace 25 Comments

I love pumpkin muffins. I remember the first time I had them as a kid, I was at school and one of the teachers brought us some. They were so moist and delicious. Even though I’m not a big fan of desserts like pumpkin pie, I enjoy things like pumpkin loaf and pumpkin muffins.

But often the really delicious muffin recipes can have a lot of sugar and oil in them. So I’ve created a new recipe that has no oil, and much less sugar.

Feel free to make these with whatever kind of flour you have on hand, but I try to mix it up once in a while and stay away from refined white flour. Also light maple syrup is less sweet than sugar, but adds nice moisture to these along with the canned pumpkin. I really love maple syrup added to baked goods.

Sometimes organic canned pumpkin is on sale at Whole Foods, so I stock up so I can make more pumpkin inspired recipes!

Fat Free and Vegan Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup oat flour (you can grind your own steel cut oats in Vitamix, or coffee grinder for this)
2 tsp celyon cinnamon (this is the sweet “true” cinnamon and tastes so yummy amazing!)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 14 oz can pumpkin puree
2/3 cup light maple syrup (or 1/3 cup agave + 1/4-1/3 cup water)
2/3 cup raisins (or as much or little as you like, I love raisins in baked goods!)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees F.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Add the pumpkin, maple syrup, raisins and mix until combined.

4. Spray muffin pan with non stick spray or use a silicon muffin tray.

5. Spoon batter into cups with a tablespoon filling just below the top about 2/3 – 3/4 full.

6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick in the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

7. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing and placing muffins on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Info
• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 160.3
• Total Fat: 1.1 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 235.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 35.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4.0 g
• Protein: 3.2 g

What’s your favorite addition to pumpkin muffins, raisins, walnuts, cranberries? Something else?