Vegan Banana Muffins

Probably the easiest banana muffin recipe I've ever made. They're great if you have a sweet tooth, if not, I suggest cutting the sugar in half, and to make a slightly healthier version use spelt flour and oats in place of the white flour.

vegan banana muffins

Vegan Banana Muffins from About.com Vegetarian Food

Banana muffins are a very easy muffin for vegans to make because the banana can act as a binder and provide moisture instead of eggs. So you don't needs eggs or even egg-replacer! Give this easy-peasy vegan banana nut muffin recipe a whirl and leave a comment to let us know what you think!

Ingredients:

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup oil or vegan margarine, softened
• 1 cup sugar (1/2 cup for a slightly less sweet version)
• 2 cups flour (or 1 1/2 cups spelt flour, 1/2 cup oats)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork till soft. Add the oil or vegan margarine and sugar and cream together.

In a separate bowl, combine together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Combine with the banana mixture, stirring gently just to combine.

Grease or line a muffin pan, and fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Check out more recipes and reviews on About.com Vegetarian Food

Vegan Pumpkin Soup

I needed to use the leftover pumpkin from the Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, so I came up with this soup. It's easy to make, nutritious and heart-warming on a cold winter night.

vegan pumpkin soup

1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
2 cups cooked pumpkin
3 cups veggie stock
1 tsp curry
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1-2 cups chopped kale
1/2 cup almond or soy milk
sea salt & pepper to taste

Fry onion, garlic & ginger. Add pumpkin, veggie stock & spices. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add kale, simmer 5 minutes. Stir in milk. Season with salt and pepper.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

These are easy to make and delicious. The only problem is they are almost impossible to stop eating!

vegan chocolate chip pumpkin cookies

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
recipe from The Dainty Squid

based off this recipe

2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs (I used 1tbsp chia seeds & 3tbsps water)

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

half a bag of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar until smooth. Next beat in the oil, vanilla and pumpkin. Slowly mix add in your flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Evenly pour the batter into the lined cake pan.

Bake for 33-36 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Transfer your giant cookie, still attached to the parchment paper, to a wire rack to cool. When cooled completely cut into squares.

Vegan Treats in NYC

While visiting NYC for the Jivamukti Tribe Gathering we discovered some amazing vegan treats. So many vegan restaurants and stores to choose from, here are just a few...

New Years brunch at Champs Family Bakery in Brooklyn

roasted vegetable salad at Angelica Kitchen

chai latte at Moby's restaurant Teany

new vegan boots from Moo Shoes

dun-well doughnuts in Brooklyn

Double Whammy Ginger Cookies

These are the best ginger cookies I've ever had. This year I doubled the recipe and gave them out as Christmas gifts to our staff. Everyone loved them!

perfect holiday cookie (but good anytime of the year)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sea salt
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup molasses
1/2 coconut oil or sunflower oil
1/3 cup minced fresh ginger root
sugar

Whisk together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix.
Roll dough into small balls, then roll in sugar to coat before placing on cookie sheet.
Bake 350° for 10 minutes.

Vegan Apple Crisp Muffins

With limited time, these were fast, easy, delicious apple muffins to make. It's like apple crisp in a portable/packable muffin size.

vegan apple crisp muffins from the Happy Herbivore

Vegan Apple Crisp Muffins:

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ cup rolled oats
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ cup raw sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• a dash of nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup apple, diced
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease muffin tin or spray paper liners to prevent sticking and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices together until well combined. Add applesauce, sugars and maple, then stir until almost combined. add apples, stirring until just combined. Spoon into muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle additional oats and brown sugar over top if desired. Bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

check out the Happy Herbivore blog and the Happy Herbivore cookbook 

Thai Coconut Soup from Happy Planet

My sister-in-law left this package in our fridge. Perfect for when you have a last minute craving for soup: no cooking required! I'm not usually a big fan of pre-made soups, but this one was delicious, plus it's from a canadian company that focusses on organic, planet-friendly food.

check out Happy Planet drinks & soups

Happy Planet

We started with a farmful of organic carrots, a blender and the dream of the world as a happier place. Today Happy Planet makes smoothies, juices, soups and health shots - all fresh and all good.

Mission: We make food and juice that makes you smile. It has to do you good and taste great - that's Happy Planet.

Description: Two boys, Randal Ius and Gregor Robertson, started out in 1994 with a farm full of organic carrots, a blender, a somewhat ambitious dream to make the world a better place and hopefully make some money too.

The idea was to connect big city people back to the land, to farmers who produced great produce that went in foods which tasted good and did some good.

They called the company Happy Planet.

http://www.happyplanet.com/

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HappyPlanetFoodsInc

twitter: https://twitter.com/TeamHappyPlanet