Vegan Oatmeal Banana & Craisin Muffins With Applesauce

I've been experimenting way too much with baking and muffins seem to be my new thing. They're easy to make so I have snacks enough to last me for the week at uni. You could easily freeze these too :) What really surprised me was the fact that these held together without any eggs!

These ones were even better than the sweet potato muffins I made last time! Which in comparison, had waaaay too much stevia... I should probably fix that recipe haha. The applesauce keeps these muffins moist and the banana gives it that tiny bit of banana flavour reminiscent of banana bread :) And cinnamon pairs so well with apples so I couldn't resist sprinkling some in. I love me a bit of spice! And the great news is they really don't need any added sugar. The riper your bananas, the sweeter your muffins will be - naturally! Well, the craisins have a fair bit of sugar but I took that into account when adding in stevia. I do love the sweet bursts from the craisins though. The best thing about these muffins are they are so easy to take on the go - just nuke them in the microwave for 20 seconds so that they are warm (and don't stick to the paper!) and you have yourself a yummy breakfast :)

Oatmeal Banana & Craisin Muffins With Applesauce
Makes 12

Ingredients

Dry
1 1/2 cups (200g) spelt flour (If you want to use whole wheat flour instead of spelt, remember 200g of spelt = 1 1/3 cup wheat flour)
3/4 cup (70g) rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp chia seeds

Wet
1/3 cup (90g) mashed very very ripe banana (the more spots the better!)
2/3 cup (190g) applesauce (I used Three Threes apple sauce which is sweetened)
1 tsp coconut oil
2 packets (4g) Natvia stevia
3/4 cup (200mL) oat milk (I used oat milk because of its thicker in consistency than normal milk. You could possibly use greek yogurt or maybe even skim/almond/soy milk but I can't vouch for the results)
2/3 cup craisins (or raisins, or any other fruit you like!)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190C or 375F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with liners and coat the inside of them with cooking spray or oil.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and chia seeds - leave it aside.

3. In a medium bowl combine mashed banana, applesauce, melted coconut oil, stevia, and oat milk. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix! The batter will be slightly lumpy, and that’s okay! Gently fold in the craisins.

4. Bake muffins for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Muffins are best served warm. Pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds before eating for a tasty snack!

Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins

In our every day lives, who reaches for a muffin without second thought of what is actually in them? Yes, they are an easy breakfast food that you can take on the go but there are so many carbs, so much sugar and fat in them that any idea of having a nutritious breakfast goes straight down the drain. I've been on a bit of a baking craze lately and after a fail attempt at making a healthy chocolate cake using rice syrup (don't use rice malt syrup in baking unles you are making bars - it gives everything a chewy texture), I decided to have another go. And what resulted was a delectably spiced muffin that's perfect for the holiday season (who am I kidding, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia). And best of all, it's an awesome guilt-free muffin that is wheat free, low in sugar, and low fat! Yep, you heard me, no added oil or butter! Now you can all have muffins all day, every day ;)

Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins
Makes 8 

Ingredients

Dry
1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
2/3 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp ginger
1/3 tsp nutmeg
1/3 tsp all spice
1/2 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
1/2 cup choc chips or dried fruit or whatever you want (optional) I personally didn't add anything and thought they turned out great :)

Wet
2 egg whites
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup sweet potato (or pumpkin!)
1/8-1/4 cup stevia / granulated sweetener depending on taste (I found 1/4 cup too sweet so I will tone it down next time to less than 1/4 of a cup)
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C and line 8 muffin cups with paper cups or spray with nonstick spray. If you use muffin cups, make sure to spray the inside of the cups.
  
2. In a large bowl mix flour, oats, pumpkin pie spice baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chia seeds together. In a separate bowl combine sweet potato, stevia, almond milk, egg whites and applesauce. Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. Gently fold in choc chips/dried fruit/anything you want

3. Divide batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle a tiny bit of oatmeal over each top of the muffins. Place into the oven and bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean. Muffins are best served warm. Reheat in the microwave for 20 seconds and spread with topping of your choice!