Monday, February 17, 2014
MAPLE WALNUT MUFFINS (WITH LOW-GLYCEMIC OPTIONS)
Saturday we were expecting a big storm (which never really developed) and we had prepared accordingly. DH suggested that I bake something before we lost power (which we never did, this time). I decided on muffins, since I haven't made them in a long time. I had a bit of a craving for a maple/walnut treat, so here's what I came up with-- a light, moist whole grain muffin with just a little oil added to the batter. A great treat with tea or coffee.
UPDATE: For people dealing with high blood sugar, pre-diabetes, weight issues, or diabetes, I have added some notes to the recipe about replacing all or some of the sugar and maple syrup in the recipe with sweeteners (not artificial) that have are lower on the Glycemic index or have a lower Glycemic Load. (See http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm for a list of 750 foods.)
See also https://www.healthcentral.com/article/adding-substance-to-the-glycemic-index
Printable Copy
BRYANNA'S VEGAN MAPLE WALNUT MUFFINS
Yield: 12 , or 8 larger muffins
Nutrition facts calculated using the unbleached sugar and nuts.
For a lower glycemic recipe, use 1 cup oat flour and 1/2 cup chickpea or white bean flour instead of the wholewheat pastry flour.
Mix A:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat PASTRY flour (be sure to use pastry flour for a light muffin)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Addition:
3/4 cup chopped walnuts-- pecans would be good, too
Mix B:
7 Tbs UN-sweetened smooth applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup (the darker type-- Grade B)
1/4 cup unbleached organic granulated sugar OR your favorite granular sugar alcohol-based sweetener
OR use 4-6 T. Date Puree instead of sugar-- see NOTE below for Date Puree recipe-- and use only 5 Tbs. applesauce.
1/3 cup soy milk or nut milk or your favorite vegan creamer (one that is not sweet-- here's an easy, inexpensive nut-free homemade creamer recipe)
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs oil
Additional, but optional:
a few tablespoons more maple syrup for brushing
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with oil from a pump sprayer, or grease with Cake Release (here's my homemade version).
In a medium bowl, mix together the Mix A ingredients. Stir in the walnuts. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the Mix B ingredients. Pour Mix B into Mix A and stir briefly. Divide the batter between the 12 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes. Test one of the muffins with a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through.
Brush the muffin tops lightly with the extra maple syrup. Loosen the muffins with a table knofe and turn them on their sides to cool until they can be handled.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per muffin): 170 calories, 62 calories from fat, 7.3g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 68mg sodium, 184.1mg potassium, 24.6g carbohydrates, 2.4g fiber, 10.8g sugar, 3.2g protein, 4.9 points.
NOTE: About using Date Puree instead of sugar (this is much cheaper than using date sugar)--
The Date Puree can replace sugar using a 1:1 ratio, or it can be used in combination with a reduced amount of sugar in a recipe.
To make date puree, see this easy recipe:http://nutritionstudies.org/recipes/sauce/two-minute-date-puree/
Are dates really better than sugar for diabetics or those with blood sugar issues?
"Dates are actually on the lower end of the GI. There are a variety of dates available and most of them have a GI of less than 55 (some with a significantly lower GI)." From: https://diabetickitchen.com/the-best-sugar-substitutes-for-people-with-diabetes/
(GI stands for Glycemic Index)
See this study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3112406/
Another Note: Just because dates have a lower glycemic load doesn't mean that you should eat them or use them in baking and cooking with abandon!
Enjoy!
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2 comments:
These look really yummy and just the thing to satisfy my boys' request for a baked treat this coming weekend.
One question: I don't do a lot of very low fat cooking... Can I sub mashed banana for the apple sauce? (we have some trees growing by the shed and will have lots of banana to use up).
Kathy, I suppose you could, but banana has a distinctive flavor which might interfere with the maple flavor. What I do is get a bottle of organic unsweetened smooth applesauce and freeze it in an ice cube tray which makes cubes of 2 tablespoons. Then I can just take out as many as I need and there's no waste.
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