Plant Based U

Fat-Free and Low Fat Vegan Plant Based Recipes

whole wheat

Fat Free Vegan Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins

by 44 Comments

Oh my… these banana blueberry muffins are delicious. I don’t know about you but I just love the little pop of the blueberries when you bite into them! Mashed bananas (make sure they are very ripe so they mash well) are a great substitute for oil and fat in baked goods.  So I often use them for this purpose. Plus they add a nice natural sweetness as well which is nice.

I use stone ground whole wheat flour in this recipe, but you can use any whole grain flour that you like.  If you want a lighter muffin you can look for whole wheat pastry flour, it’s not as dense as regular whole wheat flour.  For gluten free versions you can use gluten free oat flour or an all purpose gluten free flour.  I still like to use whole grain flour as most gluten free flours are highly processed and more like white flour.

These muffins also freeze well so you can portion them out and save them for later. I love adding blueberries to baked goods and smoothies, but feel free to use any other berries you like instead.

For truly oil free muffins you can use silicone non stick muffin trays, or paper muffin cups. But I like to use the silicone trays so there is no paper waste (and they also get stuck and tear off the muffins.)

Free Vegan Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins

12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups overripe (fully brown) mashed bananas (about 3 large, 4 medium)
1/3 cup almond milk (original unsweetened)
1/2 cup maple syrup (or 1/4-1/3 cup honey or agave as they are sweeter)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour (or ww pastry flour or GF flour)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ceylon cinnamon (or reg cinnamon)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/ 204 C.

2. Combine wet ingredients in a large size bowl and mix together.

3. Combine dry ingredients (except for blueberries) into a medium size bowl and whisk together.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

5. Spoon batter into non-stick silicone muffin trays or a lightly oil spritzed muffin tin.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a knife or toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cookie rack to completely.

8. Serve.

Additional Tips:

For a truly sugar free version you can try using more banana and omit the maple syrup/sweetener. For a whole food sweetener you can blend pitted dates with some water to make your own date syrup.

What’s your favorite way to use blueberries?

 

Fat Free Whole Wheat Vegan Banana Bread

by 54 Comments

Banana bread is one of my favorite childhood treats. I remember baking it many times and trying to pack as much banana flavor into it as possible. But traditional banana bread isn’t very healthy. It’s made with white flour, oil, eggs and sugar. It’s also not usually vegan.

So I wanted to make a fat free oil free vegan version of banana bread and this one uses stone ground whole wheat flour. Even though it’s oil free, it’s actually very moist and a very similar texture to regular banana bread. I was really impressed with this recipe.

Instead of sugar I’ve used maple syrup, but you can also use another liquid sweetener such as honey or agave if desired, but since they are sweeter than maple syrup you should use a little less.

The best banana bread is made with VERY ripe bananas, who’s skins have turned black and are very soft. If you use regular yellow or spotted bananas they won’t be sweet enough for this bread. When bananas ripen the natural starch inside is turned into sugar by enzymes, so it’s important to let your bananas ripen a lot before using them.

The key to slicing fresh banana bread is making sure you let it cool completely before slicing it. It makes it easier to cut and you have less chance of tearing it.

Then you can wrap it up or store it in air tight containers.

Scroll down for the recipe.

Fat Free Whole Wheat Vegan Banana Bread

 
1 loaf (12 slices)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups overripe mashed bananas (about 3 large, 4 medium)
1/3 cup almond milk
1/2 cup maple syrup (or 1/4-1/3 cup honey or agave because it’s sweeter)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour (or other whole grain, or gluten free)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Note: for a sweeter (more traditional) loaf you can add an additional 1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/177 C.

2. Combine wet ingredients in a large size bowl and mix together.

3. Combine dry ingredients into a medium size bowl and whisk together.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until combined. If you want to add some dry ingredients such as fruit or nuts gently fold them in now.

5. Pour batter into a non stick silicone loaf pan or a lightly oil spritzed metal loaf pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top. Sprinkle additional cinnamon on top if desired.

6. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a knife in the middle comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cookie rack to completely before slicing.

8. Serve.

Additional Tips:

If you tend to have bananas that ripen and then turn black before you can use them, you can peel them and place them in a bag or in a plastic container in the freezer. Then take them out and thaw them for this recipe. It’s nice to have overripe bananas whenever you have an incling to make banana bread.

What’s your favorite addition to bake into banana bread? Walnuts? Raisins? Berries?