Pure Thyme

For a Balanced Life

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

By 9 Comments

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Courtesy of the lovely and amazing Julieanna Hever, also known as “The Plant-Based Dietitian” and host of “What Would Julieanna Do?,” airing on Veria Living (the TV network that showcases healthy lifestyle and wellness programming).

Julieanna is an advocate of the benefits of following a whole food, plant-based diet. She is the author of the best-selling book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition and the nutrition columnist for VegNews Magazine.  Her new  TV series  is a great source for healthy and delicious recipes!

Julieanna was kind enough to share this amazing recipe for her Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins with us. This is the perfect recipe for this time of year. These muffins are amazing, I made these for breakfast this morning and they are half gone already! =) The kids loved, loved, loved these!

Oh, and they are oil-free and refined sugar-free taboot! *love*

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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (vegan, oil-free, refined sugar-free)
Author: 
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • 1 medium banana, mashed
  • 1 (15-oz.) can sweet pumpkin puree
  • ¼ cup 100% pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 cups whole oat flour
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 cup grain-sweetened dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine mashed banana, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
  2. In a small bowl, combine oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Transfer mixture to large bowl and mix together gently until well-combined. Avoid over-mixing to prevent toughness in the final product. Fold in chocolate chips.
  3. Spoon batter into silicon muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are lightly browned. Remove muffins from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Store muffins in an airtight container.
Notes
I had to bake these for longer than the recipe states. Total time: 35 minutes

All ovens vary, so use your kitchen intuition!

 

Thanks again for sharing your recipe with us Julieanna and good luck on your new TV series. We are all looking forward to watching!

xoxo,

Jen

 

 

Quinoa Oatmeal Mini-Muffins

By 11 Comments

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Today, I decided to try out quinoa flour for the first time. I actually want to experiment with all gluten-free flours so I thought this was a good starting point. I am a HUGE fan of quinoa in general for its nutritional benefits and use it often, but I’ve never made anything out of quinoa flour. Quinoa has a slightly bitter taste, but I love it and most of you probably do as well! There are definitely many recipes out there that use it, but I had to try it out for myself. I modified a recipe I’ve had for a long time for oatmeal muffins by just replacing the whole wheat pastry flour with the quinoa flour.

The end result…the muffins do have a distinct quinoa flavor to them, but are they good? My husband thinks they are fantastic, they are kid-approved, and I kind of like them too. These are a great, healthy snack for kids. Every time I eat one I like them even more…they are growing on me…yep. I definitely need to experiment with quinoa flour some more and maybe mix the quinoa flour with another gluten-free flour like amaranth. I think that is what I will do next time I make these, which will probably be in the next couple days because I will obsess about it until I try it!  

Have you tried quinoa flour? What do you think about it? If you haven’t, try these muffins out and let me know what you think!
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Quinoa Oatmeal Mini-Muffins
Yield: 24 mini-muffins
Ingredients:
1 tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with 3 tbsp water
1 ¼ cup quinoa flour
1 cup old fashioned oats (not instant)
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup date syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped dates
¼ cup chopped pecans
Directions    
Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F.
Lightly spray a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix 1 tbsp flaxseed meal with 3 tbsp water, set aside. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda into mixing bowl.  Add oatmeal and stir to combine. In a separate bowl combine flaxseed meal mixture, almond milk, date syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Fold in dry ingredients and add raisins, dates and pecans.  Mix until just combined. Spoon the batter into muffin pans, filling each one almost to the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.
Happy healthy eating!