Vegan Bran Muffins

Breakfast is a challenging time for a new vegan, I tell you what. It's been a long time since I've cared about bacon and I prefer Earth Balance to butter and almond milk to cow's milk. Eggs are tough, though. If you think about it, they're like *the* quintessential breakfast food.

What have my vegan breakfasts consisted of so far? Steel cut oats, lots of fruit, whole grain toast with aforementioned Earth Balance (so tasty!) There are many alternatives to regular cow's milk yogurt, too (soy, coconut milk, yummy Good Belly probiotic juice). Pancakes, waffles, and even french toast are easy to make vegan. You know what else is? BRAN MUFFINS. They've become my new breakfast delicacy.

I altered this recipe from one I found on vegweb.com, and you too can alter the ingredients to include what you want. What's the big whoop about bran? Well...

Bran is an awesome source of fiber but in addition to this it's also 'rich in omegas, starch, protein, vitamins and dietary minerals, making it a compact nutritional powerhouse. ' (linky)

Add the antioxidant properties of raisins and the omega-3s and vitamin E of walnuts and you've got yourself one mean multinutritional muffin.

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup wheat bran
1 cup soy milk (or almond, rice, hemp, whatever)
6 tablespoons applesauce (no sugar added kind)
2/3 cups turbinado sugar (or substitute agave, or sucanet)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
handful of raisins and chopped walnuts (or whatever you want--carrots, zucchini, cranberries, blueberries, etc)

Method:

• Combine wheat bran and milk. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Beat applesauce, sugar, vanilla. Add to wheat bran mixture.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• Add wet ingredients to dry.
• Fold in raisins and chopped walnuts (or filling of your choice)
  

Bake at 350 degrees for 16-20 minutes

Serves: 12

Preparation time: 15 minutes prep

My advice: make these at the beginning of the week so you can grab one on your way out the door throughout the week. Also, experiment with the sugar amount. I personally put a bit less in and it tasted fine. Whatever you do, don't use regular white sugar. It's terrible for you and it sure as heck ain't vegan.