Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

I'm happy to report that, over the last few days, my rotten cold is just about over, my nerve pain (from shingles) discomfort has eased quite a bit (after 4 months), and I have had much more energy in the last few days. I have managed to get some much-needed household and outside jobs done (in the morning, when my energy is highest)-- yay!

That said, I was moved to make some muffins a few days ago, and I made a batch of the same today, as well.  I had stumbled upon a recipe I had written a few years ago that sounded  just perfect for what I had available in my pantry and refrigerator.  But, I tweaked it a bit to make it lower on the glycemic index. I was a bit worried that using low-glycemic whole grains in place of the original white pastry flour, but I needn't have done so. I used only 1/2 cup of wholewheat flour, and replaced the rest with my favorite low-glycemic flour mixture of 3/4 oat flour and 1/4 chickpea flour.  It worked perfectly!

In my original recipe, I made a note stating: "Batter will be kind of runny-- it will be fine." I was a bit nervous about this, but decided to proceed anyway. Again, I needn't have worried-- the muffins turned out just fine-- in fact, nice and moist, but not soggy at all.  I hope you'll give them a try!


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S NEW, MOIST LOW-FAT, LOW-GLYCEMIC LEMON, WALNUT, BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Makes 12 muffins

WET MIX:
1 1/2 cups creamy plant-based milk (I use soy)
1/2 cup sugar of choice (for sugar-free, use 1/2 cup sucralose instead)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 T. oil
grated zest of 1 lemon

DRY MIX:
3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour (or white bean flour)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup oat bran
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Additional:
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw them out!)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or nuts of your choice)
Optional for topping: brown sugar or coconut sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease 12 muffin cups (or use cupcake liners or my Homemade Palm-Oil-Free, Non-Hydrogenated “Cake Release” (Pan Coating or Professional Baker's Grease).

Blend the Wet Mix ingredients together in a blender or with a stick blender, or a food processor. Set aside Mix the Dry Mix ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add the blueberries and walnuts and stir to coat with the Dry Mix.

Stir in the blended Wet mix and stir well, making sure that there is no Dry Mix still at the bottom of the bowl. As noted in the intro above, the batter will be runny-- see pics below.

A good friend of ours was coming over for coffee this morning, so I wanted to bake something simple but yummy.  I've had a hankering for cornbread lately, but I haven't been baking at all lately, mostly because of the heat.  However,  it was a bit cooler this morning, so I thought I would make some muffins-- a-little-bit-sweet cornmeal muffins to go with the coffee and satisfy my craving at the same time. They turned out well-- just sweet enough, nice and moist, not high in fat, and with a bit of coconut crunch.

The whole wheat pastry flour, which is lower in gluten than regular whole wheat flour, and the wetter batter, results in a very tender and moist muffin, despite the smaller than usual amount of oil.


Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S SWEET & TENDER VEGAN CORNMEAL MUFFINS WITH COCONUT & RAISINS (WITH VARIATIONS)
18 large muffins
This is a variation on my favorite Yankee-style cornbread. It’s moist and corny, high-fiber and low in fat.

DRY MIX:
2 cup fine cornmeal
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup soy, chickpea or pea flour
1/2 cup granulated unbleached organic sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
WET MIX:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups + 6 tablespoons nondairy milk  
1/2 cup aquafaba (chickpea cooking broth) OR unsweetened smooth applesauce 
1/4 cup oil 
ADDITIONS:
1/2-2/3 cup fine shredded coconut
1/2-2/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries, or other chopped dried fruit  
VARIATIONS: 
If you like, use 2/3-1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans instead of coconut; and/or use 1-2 c. fresh cranberries or blueberries instead of the dried fruit.
            
Turn oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 18 muffin cups (preferably) with my Homemade Cake Release or oil.

Whisk the Dry Mix ingredients together well in a large bowl. Whisk or blend the Wet Mix ingredients together and add to the Dry Mix, along with the coconut and raisins or dried cranberries, etc.. Mix briefly. The batter will be wetter than most muffin batters, but don't worry! 

Ladle the batter into the greased muffin cups. The batter will be right up to the tops of the muffin cups. Bake 20 minutes. Test for doneness with a clean toothpick.

Place the muffin pans on racks and let sit for about 5 minutes, then release the muffins and serve warm.

Nutrition Facts (Made with aquafaba and  1/2 cup each coconut and raisins.)
Nutrition (per serving): 183 calories, 49 calories from fat, 5.6g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 253.7mg sodium, 256.9mg potassium, 30.9g carbohydrates, 3.3g fiber, 9.9g sugar, 4.4g protein, 5.3 points.

Enjoy!

A few days ago I read about using yellow split pea puree as a fat substitute in baking on a Canadian site pulsepledge.com:
https://pulsepledge.com/pulse-tips/bake-pea-puree/  (PDF here)  This concept intrigued me because split peas are so nutritious, easy to find, can be stored for long periods of time, and are very inexpensive.



Pulse Pledge was an initiative during the "International Year of Pulses" in 2016. Their website stated: "In 2013 the United Nations declared that 2016 will be the International Year of Pulses. The hope of the 2016 International Year of Pulses (IYP 2016) is to position pulses as a primary source of protein and other essential nutrients. IYP 2016 will promote broad discussion and cooperation at the national, regional and global levels to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by pulse farmers, be they large scale farms or small land holders." (PS: Pulse vs. Legume: What's the difference?)

This is a big deal for Canada because:
"Canada’s pulse industry meets the needs of over 150 markets around the globe. Canadian pulse exporters supply whole, split or milled peas, chickpeas, bean and lentils in a variety of shipment sizes. Over the past 25 years, Canada has emerged as the world’s largest exporter of lentils and peas, and one of the world’s top five exporters of beans." http://www.pulsecanada.com/pulse-industry

"Canada's large and diverse agricultural land base is ideally suited for growing a range of pulse crops including pea, lentil, bean and chickpea. More than 2.3 million hectares are seeded to pulse crops each year. Long sunny days and suitable soil conditions provide Canada with a natural production advantage, which is enhanced by the use of the latest farm management technology and research. Cold winters not only protect Canadian pulses from disease and insects, but also reduce storage quality concerns."
http://www.pulsecanada.com/canadas-growing-regions

AND
"Pulse production has a significantly lower carbon footprint than production of animal protein. According to the Global Pulse Confederation: Producing one kilogram of legumes = 0.5 kg in Co2 equivalent, compared with 9.5 kg in Co2 equivalent for one kilogram of beef.

Planting pulses leaves behind nitrogen in the soil, providing valuable nutrients to future crops. Growing them in rotation with other crops can also disrupt disease and insect cycles."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/the-making-of-the-next-big-foodtrend/article28133157/

****************************************************************

So, though I use pulses in my going on a daily basis, and have used pulse flours (soy, white bean, chickpea, etc.) in cooking and baking, I haven't done alot of baking with pureed cooked pulses.  Ever curious and always on the hunt for ways to cut the fat in cooking without sacrificing flavor and texture, I gave it a shot.  (I had a big container of split yellow peas in my pantry.)

I mixed 2 cups of dried split yellow peas with 4 cups of water in my Instant Pot and pressure cooked at high pressure for 10 minutes. (PS: You could use any pressure cooker, or simmer, covered, for 30 minutes on your stovetop.) The resulting soft mush just needed a few stirs to "puree", and the yield was 5 cups.

I refrigerated the puree in the container for a day or so.  When I removed it from the refrigerator, it had hardened considerably! (See more about this below.) I pressed the puree into silicone cupcake liners and a silicone large ice cube tray in 1/4 cup portions and froze them.  Then I popped out the frozen portions, bagged them up and popped them back into the freezer for future use.

I first experimented with a muffin recipe of my own (a maple walnut muffin), using 1/2 cup of the pea puree instead of the 7 T. applesauce and 2 T. oil used in the original recipe (whIch also calls for a little soymilk and some maple syrup). The original recipe resulted in nice moist muffins.  The experiment with the pea puree produced smaller, drier, and paler muffins-- edible, but not great. (NOTE: I don't like dry muffins, and I especially don't like dry muffins if I'm not going to "butter" them!)

So, back to the drawing board I went. I seemed to me that the puree, when cooled, had hardened to a drier state and that was probably what caused those. So I decided that I would try adding 1 T. of water to each 1/4 cup portion of the pea puree before using the next time.

I had no walnuts left, so couldn't make the same recipe.  I decided to veganize and de-fat  a recipe out of  "The New All Purpose Joy of Cooking" and see what happened.  I chose their carrot muffin recipe. I substituted Aquafaba for the 2 eggs called for, and 1/4 cup pea puree with 1 T. water for the 5 T. oil.  I omitted the nuts and used whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour.

(NOTE ON USING WHOLE WHEAT PASTRY FLOUR IN LOW-FAT OR NO-FAT BAKING:  pastry flour contains less gluten than all purpose flour, so it works well in low-fat or no-fat baking (except in yeast breads).  You see, fat in a recipe coats the gluten strands as you mix, making the muffin or cake batter, for instance, more tender.  If you are using very little or no fat, using pastry flour gives you a more tender product even without the fat.)

I was pleased with the results-- only 134 calories each, very tasty, moist crumb, just the way I like them.  To be fair, the carrots help with the moist texture, but I think I'm on the right track. I'll post any future experiments that are successful, and would love to hear from anyone out there that has had success.
PS: Check out this brownie recipe using Yellow Split Pea Puree:  BRYANNA'S MOIST & DELICIOUS LOW-GLYCEMIC, LOW-FAT, VEGAN BROWNIES (soy-free and gluten-free if you use GF oats; NO added oil).

Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S NO-FAT VEGAN WHOLE WHEAT VEGAN CARROT/RAISIN MUFFINS (WITH AQUAFABA & SPLIT PEA PUREE)
Yield: 12 muffins

To make Yellow Split Pea Puree Fat Sub for Baking: Cook 2 cups split yellow peas (no need to soak) + 4 cups water, either 10 minutes at high pressure in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker, or 30 minutes simmered on stovetop. Mash and stir to puree. Yield: 5 cups. Freeze in 1/4 cup portions. Thaw; add 1 T. water per 1/4 cup before using in recipes in place of fat in baking, tablespoon for tablespoon. 
Aquafaba (chickpea cooking liquid or liquid from canned chickpeas)Egg Sub for Baking: 3 T. per egg.

Dry Mix:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup raisins (your choice of variety)
Optional: you can add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts or toasted sunflower seeds if you like.
Wet Mix:
3/4 cup organic light granulated sugar
6  Tbs Aquafaba (chickpea cooking liquid or liquid from canned chickpeas; see above)
1/4 cup yellow split pea puree PLUS 1 Tbs water, whisked together (see above)
1/4 cup orange juice (juice from 1 medium orange)
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 3 medium carrots)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by lining with parchment (see how to make quick liners from parchment paper) or silicone cupcake liners, or spraying with oil from a pump-sprayer, or use a light film of cake release.  (See my homemade non-hydrogenated palm-oil-free version here.) I prefer to use my cake release-- I like the outside of my muffins to be a little bit crusty and I find that cupcake liners (especially the silicone ones) result in a softer crust and don't look as browned as they do when no liner is used.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the Dry Mix ingredients. Stir in the raisins.

In a smaller bowl or pitcher, whisk together the Wet Mix ingredients EXCEPT for the carrots.  If you see any lumps from the pea puree, use an immersion/stick blender to briefly blend the mixture until smooth.

Add the carrots to the Wet Mix and stir to mix thoroughly.

Scoop the wet Mix into the Dry Mix and fold the mixtures together until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened-- don't over-mix. It's a fairly wet batter, BTW.

Divide the mixture between the 12 muffin cups and bake for about 15 minutes.  Test the center of one muffin with a toothpick.  If it comes out wet, bake for a 3-5 minutes more.  Cool on a rack for a few minutes before releasing the muffins from the pan.  Serve hot, or cool the muffins on a rack.

Servings: 12

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 134 calories, 4 calories from fat, less than 1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 195.1mg sodium, 221mg potassium, 31.5g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 17.4g sugar, 2.8g protein, 3.9 points.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

I'm so sorry for not blogging for so long!  I have not been terribly inspired in the last few months, so have been taking a bit of a blogging vacation. On top of that, I have had the worst cold of my life for the last three weeks-- very tired from waking up coughing at night. But, I'm on the mend, finally.

One wonderful addition to our life-- I have a great-grandson!  Here he is with me just after he turned 4 months old:


I have been working on a few things and hope to post them soon.  In the meantime, I made some muffins yesterday.  I used to make muffins quite often, but I don't do much baking these days.  We have to watch our calories and fat. But Brian expressed an interest in carrot cake all of sudden, so I suggested carrot muffins instead of cake. (I happen to have a huge bag of carrots in the house and have been trying to use them up, so it sounded like a good idea.)

I like muffins that are low in fat, but moist. The crushed pineapple helps with that and I think using the aquafaba as an egg substitute also helps. We loved them, and I hope you do, too.





















Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S AQUAFABA PINEAPPLE-CARROT MUFFINS (vegan, low-fat)
Yield: 10 muffins

Dry Mix:
1  cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1  tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup brown sugar
Wet Mix:
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup aquafaba (cooking liquid from cooking chickpeas, or liquid from canned chickpeas)
3 Tbsp oil
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Additional Ingredients:
8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained thoroughly
(NOTE: If you have only canned pineapple slices, use 6 slices and shred with a fork; drain thoroughly.)
1 1/2 cups grated raw carrot, squeezed by hand to remove juice.
1/2 cup raisins
Optional:
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Turn the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 10 muffin cups with cake release, or line with unbleached paper cupcake liners.

In one bowl, mix together the Dry Mix ingredients with a whisk.

In a larger bowl whisk together the Wet Mix ingredients thoroughly.  Pour in the Dry Mix and stir gently.  Add the pineapple, grated carrots and raisins (and optional nuts, if using). Mix just enough to distribute the ingredients evenly.

Distribute the batter evenly between 10 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center of one muffin comes out clean.

Place the muffin tin on a rack for a few minutes, then carefully loosen the muffins from the cups and turn on their sides.

Nutrition Facts (without nuts)
Nutrition (per muffin): 215 calories, 40 calories from fat, 4.6g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 248.2mg sodium, 332.6mg potassium, 42.5g carbohydrates, 2.9g fiber, 25.4g sugar, 3.1g protein, 6.3 points.

Nutrition Facts (with optional nuts)
Nutrition (per muffin): 254 calories, 72 calories from fat, 8.4g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 248.3mg sodium, 358.4mg potassium, 43.3g carbohydrates, 3.3g fiber, 25.6g sugar, 4g protein, 7.4 points.

Enjoy!

Aquafaba, in case you somehow haven't heard of it by now, is the viscous broth from canned or cooked chickpeas and it makes an excellent egg substitute in baking.  (It is so-named because the terms "bean juice" and "brine" just didn't sound appetizing to most of the posters on the facebook page mentioned in the next paragraph.) Use about 3 tablespoons per average egg, or 1/4 cup for a large egg (you don't have to whip it for this use-- just use in its liquid form).  This use for aquafaba as an egg replacer in baking was first posted by author/blogger, vegan cook extraordinaire Somer McCowan here. I've used it successfully in cornbread, too.

If you are unfamiliar with aquafaba egg or egg white replacer, see the Facebook page Vegan Meringue- Hits and Misses! There are about 8,000 enthusiastic members, eagerly discussing the applications, possibilities and  limitations of this seemingly magic liquid that can be whipped into a meringue. There you will find recipes files for meringues, macaroons, pavlovas, nougat, whipped toppings, etc., a;; made with this miraculous elixir! And you will be amazed!

My humble contribution to the files on that Facebook page is how to make your own aquafaba that is viscous enough to whip up nicely like egg whites, or to use in liquid form as a whole egg substitute in baking, and how to store it in usable portions for recipes.


I have not really explored the meringue much yet, since we are not eating many desserts of late-- I'll wait until the next birthday or holiday to experiment!  However, I made some muffins for company earlier this week and worked from an egg-based recipe to devise a low-fat, whole grain vegan muffin that was not only delicious, but moist and tender. They didn't last very long!


Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S MOIST & TENDER LOWFAT WHOLE GRAIN VEGAN MAPLE OATMEAL MUFFINS (WITH AQUAFABA EGG REPLACER)
Yield: 12

Only 2 tablespoons of oil in this recipe for 12 good-sized muffins!

COOKING TIP: Pastry flour makes a more tender muffin, especially in a recipe like this, using very little fat.  You can use white whole wheat pastry flour, if you like-- it's made from white wheat.  But the color of this muffin is brown due to the maple syrup, so ordinary whole wheat pastry flour is just fine.

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat *pastry* flour (see Cooking tip above)
1 cup quick oats
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp (rounded)  ground nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups unsweetened smooth applesauce
2/3 cup maple syrup (preferably Grade B-- it has more maple flavor)
1/4 cup (4 Tbs)  aquafaba (the broth from cooking chickpeas or drained from canned chickpeas-- see text above) NOTE: No need to whip the aquafaba for this type of recipe-- use in liquid form.
2 Tbs oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Additional Ingredients:
2/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries OR dairy-free chocolate chips
2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (Optional)
PS:  Feel free to add your own combinations of Additional Ingredients.

1. Set the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.  Oil  a 12-cup muffin pan (or use cake release-- here's my homemade palm oil-free, non-hydrogenated cake release recipe).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the Dry Ingredients.

3. In a deep pitcher or bowl, mix together the Wet Ingredients and whisk by hand or blend with an immersion/stick blender for several minutes, or until bubbly.

4. Pour the Wet Ingredients into the Dry Ingredients and mix together just until the batter is moistened-- do not over-mix.  (A Danish dough whisk is excellent for this job and other batters which should not be stirred too much.)

5. Add any Additional Ingredients you are using and fold gently into the batter.

This batch was made with chocolate chips and walnuts

6. Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups (using a gently rounded 1/3 cup measure).  Bake for 20 minutes.

7. Place the muffin pan on a cooling rack and loosen the muffins with a table knife, setting them gently on their sides in the pan to cool.


8. Serve warm.

NOTE: The nutrition facts for this recipe were calculated (with Living Cookbook recipe software) using raisins and walnuts. If you use chocolate chips or dried cranberries instead of raisins, the calories and fat will be a bit higher. If you omit the nuts, you will save almost 50 calories and several grams of fat.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per muffin): 244 calories, 63 calories from fat, 7.4g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 201.6mg sodium, 344.4mg potassium, 42.8g carbohydrates, 4.3g fiber, 16.5g sugar, 5.2g protein.

This recipe is an old one in our house-- I developed it for my book "The Fiber for Life Cookbook", published back in 2002.  Nothing fancy, but nutritious and delicious. My granddaughter has been enjoying them today, too.  No need for butter on these-- just a little of your favorite jam!


Printable Copy

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!

I promised to post my recipe or vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (what most people know as "Nutella")  from my book "World Vegan Feast" this week, so I'm making good on my promise. In Europe, chocolate is considered a food and, indeed, it does contain valuable antioxidants. Combined with nuts, it makes a delicious, nutritious (if high-fat) traditional Italian spread to use on toast or bread as you would peanut butter. I would recommend it as a treat, not an everyday commodity. Since most commercial brands contain hydrogenated fats and dairy products (and even the organic vegan commercial varieties contain palm oil), I prefer to make my own.


Since I had to make some to photograph, we are going to have to exercise restraint and not gobble it up too fast!  It is very delicious and actually easy to make (especially if you use commercial hazelnut butter-- or almond butter, which makes an easily-available substitute).  If, for some strange reason, you don’t use it all up, you can swirl it into muffin batter (see the second recipe below for Gianduia Muffns) or vegan ice cream, use it in sweet breads, or make chocolate panini with it (try it with apricot jam or sliced bananas and vegan marshmallow creme).

I feel so badly that I can't participate in Vegan Mofo this year!  But, it's just not  feasible for me this year, as I am organizing a fund-raising event, which is taking up alot of time and energy. Next year!

But, we still have to eat, and I had some nice pears to use up.  I decided to make some muffins with them, and, before I had thought of pear muffins, I had been been considering making some corn bread.  This led me to an idea for pear muffins made with some cornmeal.  And then I thought adding some of my favorite organic candied ginger (it has some real zing to it!) would be nice, and why not a handful of pecans for good measure?  The results were excellent-- good enough to share with you.  They would make a wonderful breakfast muffin because they are whole grain, substantial, and rather rustic, but not heavy or overly-sweet.

BRYANNA’S RUSTIC GINGER-PECAN-PEAR MUFFINS WITH CORNMEAL
Makes 12