Sunday, June 15, 2008

To Be Vegan or Not to Be Vegan...

I'm debating about whether to be vegan (also minus sugar, caffeine, gluten and alcohol) for 21 days (like Oprah) to cleanse my body. I've been eating a lot of crap lately - I think if I get it out of my system, I'll feel better.

Yesterday, I checked out a couple of vegan cookbooks from the library. I've already made a recipe - Muffins That Taste Like Donuts from Vegan Vittles. Of course, I was drawn to the least Oprah/body cleanse-friendly recipe on earth. Still, the nutritionals aren't bad - only 2 points per muffin (about 120 calories or so.) Amy, they'd also be Evie-friendly since they have no dairy!

I halved the recipe to make 6 muffins - if you want to make 12, double it.

Topping
  • 1/8 C sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 C whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/8 C sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

  • 1/2 C applesauce (I used unsweetened)
  • 1/2 C plain or vanilla soymilk or rice milk (I used vanilla soy milk)
  • 1 T maple syrup (I used light Aunt Jemima's - I know it's not real syrup, but real syrup is expensive!)
  • 1 T vegetable oil (I used canola)
  • 1/2 T lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in a small bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well with a wooden spoon. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with topping mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let rest for 3-5 minutes in pan. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My Review:

Although these muffins were very good, the person who created them has obviously never tasted a donut in her entire life. They taste nothing at all like donuts.

With that said, they're still pretty good muffins. They have a wholesome flavor thanks to the whole wheat pastry flour and the cinnamon sugar topping adds a nice touch. Plus, I'm just satisfied with one - I don't need to eat the whole tin at once. That's always a good sign!

I would definitely make these again!

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