For those of you who don't know already I decided to go Vegan about 5 months ago after being Vegetarian for 16 years. This was something that I have always wanted to do but thought it would be a big disruption to my life cutting out dairy completely. To be honest it isn't easy, especially when I look at delicious cupcakes and all the vegetarian options available which always contain cheese. However the more I explore with different recipes the more excited I get about eating. Food has never really interested me much.....bit of a self proclaimed pasta and cheeseaholic! Since cheese is now a big No No I have found myself experimenting a lot more with crazy things I should always have been eating anyway like......grains...nuts....and seeds!
I have not gone all hippy (the usual stereotype with vegans) but I am now very aware of the nutrition that my body needs and try and eat a varied healthy diet. One thing I have found extremely difficult is not being able to go for a coffee and a muffin at my favourite coffee shop! Now, I am no master chef or baker, which unfortunately I have found out since trying to bake without eggs and milk! I hear you all saying......whats the point? Well.........I was beginning to think the same thing since I have tried at least 6 times to make muffins that either looked like pancakes or tasted entirely like soy!
However, today I cracked it and baked some Delicious Banana Muffins that even my dairy eating friends enjoyed! I swear you can't tell that they are dairy free and they are super moist and tasty!
Since I am a very happy mouse (and am also full from eating muffins today) I thought I would share the recipe with you and I urge you to give it a try and see what you think.
This is after I ate (well im not going to tell you how many but it was too many :-)
3 very ripe bananas
1/4 cup oil or vegan margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork till soft. Add the oil or vegan margarine and sugar and cream together.
In a separate bowl, combine together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Combine with the banana mixture, stirring gently just to combine.
Grease or line a muffin pan, and fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
I used the vegan margarine (Olivani) My disaster results before always contained oil so I would say avoid it if possible.
Next time I am going to half the sugar and add some dairy free chocolate or maybe some raspberries....or both Yum!
I have also read Alicia Silverstones book
The Kind Diet which is a good read if you are thinking about dabbling in a vegan or vegetarian diet, or just looking for some super nutritious meals.
My next vegan read is going to be
Chef Chloe Coscarelli and her New Cookbook
Chloe's Kitchen! She was the winner of the TV show Cupcake Wars in the US and I can't wait to try and make all of her delicious suggestions.
I will let you know when it arrives and what my favourite recipes are :-) Yum!
This post is taking part in
Get Your Craft on Tuesdays
