Protein-Packed Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Having had somewhat of a love affair with chickpeas my whole life, I find it odd that only relatively recently have I discovered the wonder that is chickpea flour. It’s a protein powerhouse: just one cup has 21 grams of protein. That’s about double the amount of protein found in a cup of all-purpose wheat flour and still five grams more than whole wheat flour. In addition, it also has 10 grams of dietary fiber — three times as much as all-purpose flour and just under the amount in a cup of whole wheat flour.

So when I found myself craving pumpkin and the delightful fall spices that typically accompany said squash, I decided to try adding chickpea flour to the mix. The results did not disappoint. These muffins are flavorful with a delicious, moist interior. And because the other type of flour used in these muffins is oat flour, this recipe is very easy to make gluten free (just use gluten-free oat flour or gluten-free oats to make your own oat flour!).

These muffins are low in added sweeteners, so they certainly aren’t a sickeningly sweet treat. But they make a very satisfying, guilt-free snack or breakfast. And with something this packed full of spices, I find that I like being able to taste the complexity of the flavors rather than just tasting sweetness. But if sweets are your thing, don’t hesitate to make these a little sweeter! They’ll still have all the nutrition that oats, chickpeas, pumpkin, and ginger have to offer!

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Ingredients:

  • 1 flax “egg” (1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 4 tablespoons agave nectar (this recipe is designed to be low in added sweeteners. If you like sweeter muffins, try adding more agave nectar or a few tablespoons of coconut sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup almond or soy milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger (I often add even more than this because of the health benefits of ginger)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 chickpea flour or besan
  • 3/4 cup oat flour (I ground my own by putting rolled oats in the food processor)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Begin by whisking your flax egg together in a small bowl and setting it aside. Next, combine the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, agave nectar and vanilla extract in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the almond milk and spices. In a smaller bowl, combine the two flours with the baking powder, baking soda and salt, stirring well to eliminate any lumps.

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Whisk the flax mixture into the wet ingredients. Follow this by slowly adding the bowl of dry ingredients. Whisk to incorporate if there are lumps.

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Once the batter is mixed together, divide it among 10-12 spaces in a muffin tin. Bake 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

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Sweet ‘N Easy Vegan Crepes

Vegan crepes. The combination of these two words translates to me as just “Mmm.” I’ve always loved pancakes and waffles, covered in real maples syrup or my mom’s homemade strawberry syrup, but only recently have I decided that I love crepes even more. The light, delicate texture of these crepes makes the subtle flavors of coconut, cinnamon and vanilla even more noticeable. I enjoy eating these plain, filled with fruit, topped with vegan yogurt, or—my personal favorite combination—filled with chopped bananas and pecans with a drizzle of maple syrup on top.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe!

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Makes 9-10 Crepes

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
3 tablespoons agave nectar or other liquid sweetener
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup soy or almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk together the coconut oil and honey, then add in the other wet ingredients one at a time. You can combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add them to the liquid ingredients, or you can simply whisk them in, being sure to mix well enough to eliminate any salt lumps.

Preheat a nonstick or seasoned skillet to a medium-low heat. For each crepe, pour about three tablespoons of the batter on the skillet and cook for several minutes on each side.

When the crepes are done, roll them up with chopped fruit on the inside or cover with your favorite syrup or vegan yogurt. Enjoy!

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The Vegan Omelette: Chickpea-Tofu Style

Since my last post in February, life has been crazy! I got engaged to my then-boyfriend of 2.5 years in March and married in May! Now that I’m no longer planning a wedding, I promise to be a lot more regular with the posts. Especially since I received so many wonderful gifts of cookware, bakeware and appliances that have motivated me to spend even more time on my experiments in the kitchen.

Well, to start this one off, I’ll just tell you that if there’s one thing I enjoy, it’s a good breakfast. Though, I don’t always eat breakfast in the morning. I often find myself eating the delicious breakfast foods I crave for lunch or dinner. So it was today. After deciding to make a standard tofu scramble (which I can’t believe I haven’t posted on this blog yet, oh well), I saw some leftover chickpeas in my fridge and I thought to myself, “I wonder what I could do with those.” As my mind became busy trying to find a way to add chickpeas to my breakfast-lunch, I was struck with the idea of adding chickpeas to a standard vegan tofu omelette (which I’ve experimented with before).

The result was thoroughly pleasing. Though, I wish that I’d had some nutritional yeast on hand to add to the mix. Despite that, I felt that the flavor of the tofu and chickpeas, combined with the seasonings, made for a very delicious, though time consuming, breakfast item.

To start off, I seasoned my stainless steel skillet, thinking that cooking omelettes would be the ultimate test to see if seasoning a skillet would really make it “non-stick.” Thankfully, it worked! There was no sticking and I only used paltry amounts of oil with a few spritzes of my Misto sprayer (which I highly recommend).

Vegan Chickpea-Tofu Omelette

Makes 5-6 Omelettes

Ingredients:vegan-omelette-6

1 14-ounce package of silken tofu
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
(Note: I imagine that this would also work great with a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast!)
Sliced mushrooms, bell peppers and onions, or vegetables of choice, for filling.

vegan-omelette-2 I began by slicing up a few veggies—mushrooms, mini bell peppers and part of an onion—and throwing them in a skillet. You can also throw some vegan sausage in if that’s your thing. I added a little because the hubs really likes the stuff.

Next, while preheating your pan on a medium-low heat (though, how high of a temperature you need can vary greatly depending on what kind of pan you’re using), add the rest of the ingredients to a boss food processor or blender. If your appliance isn’t super heavy duty, you can add a little plain soymilk or water to help it blend. But don’t put too much extra liquid or it might not be thick enough to solidify into a beautiful omelette. And that would be a real shame.

Then, scoop some of this mixture onto your heated skillet (I put about 3/8 cup per omelette).

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Now comes the waiting game. While your omelette is cooking, cover it for a few minutes to help cook the omelette all the way through. If it starts to seem like it’s steaming it too much and making it soggy, though, remove the cover. Cook until it is pretty solid, about 10 minutes.

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Then, place your filling of veggies and/or veggie sausage on the omelette.

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Use your spatula to fold the omelette over the filling.

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Cook for a minute or two more and voila! A delicious omelette! Repeat these steps for more delicious omelettes! Enjoy!

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Vegan Banana Bread + Baby Muffins

Tonight something happened in my household that rarely occurs: a surplus of ripe bananas. Normally, we go through bananas like water thanks to my brother, N. I decided to take advantage of this unprecedented plethora of bananas and bake a banana-themed dessert. This recipe is one of my favorites because of its simplicity, and because it lends itself so well to vegan baking. Bananas are a natural binder, which makes them an ideal replacement for eggs in baking. Also, the bananas add a really nice level of sweetness so you don’t have to go overboard with the sweetener. Oh, and did I mention that the finished product tastes fantastic? I hope you enjoy this incredibly simple recipe for healthy, delicious banana bread or muffins. (All photo credit goes to the amazing Tori Johnson).

Vegan Banana Bread + Baby Muffins

Ingredients:Vegan Banana Mini Muffins

4 ripe bananas
1 to 1 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Optional: blueberries or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350. Mash the bananas in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir together the dry ingredients in a separate, smaller bowl. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet mixture. Add blueberries or walnuts, if desired. Measure into bread pans or muffin pans and bake until done (the time varies greatly depending on whether you are baking muffins or bread).

I’ve found that this recipe works best in mini bread pans or a muffin pan so the inside can bake thoroughly without the outside getting too brown. My absolute favorite thing to make with this recipe? Baby muffins. As Jim Gaffigan would say: “I’ll just have one or twelve.”