The only problem with this recipe is that I missed my blueberry season window by a couple of weeks. Now, fresh blueberries are back to being exorbitantly priced and scarce. I suppose frozen blueberries would suffice, though I spent so long tinkering with the recipe, I would hate to think of any substitutions threatening the overall balance. But I’ll let you guys be the judge on that one. I also imagine chopped apples would be nice here, but that idea might merit a whole new post of its own…

Yield: 12 muffins

Blueberry Muffins:

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup coconut crystals or coconut palm sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon Ener-G egg replacer (dry)

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

½ cup hot water

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup coconut oil (liquefied)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Fill 12 muffin tins with liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, xanthan gum, salt, coconut sugar, cinnamon, dry egg replacer, baking powder and baking soda.

2. Add milk, hot water, vanilla and coconut oil to dry ingredients and mix to incorporate. Fold in applesauce. Fold in blueberries, being careful not to crush.

3. Drop batter by 1/4 cup into each muffin tin, adding more if necessary until each tin is evenly filled. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.

I probably shouldn’t admit to this (considering I have a blog that I’d like for people to subscribe to), but I don’t subscribe to feeds. I never have. Call me crazy, but I sort of love the excitement of going to one of my favorite sites and being…surprised. It’s like seeing that your favorite movie is on T.V., or hearing your favorite song on the radio. It’s just sort of my thing. I just go to this page (as much there for my own convenience as it is there for you), and start from the top. And with each click and the occassional new post, I am both inspired and entertained, and thoroughly content.

So maybe there’s one of me out there, leisurely checking through your own list on a lazy Saturday. And maybe — just maybe — you have the ingredients on hand for these muffins. If not, put them on your grocery list. Because these are the perfect compliment to a lazy Sunday, and I want you to be a ahead of the curve. Everyone else will have to get caught up Monday morning.

Yield: about a dozen

Muffins:

These muffins don’t necessarily have a sour cream flavor, though the sour cream alternative adds moisture and just a hint of complexity to the flavor of the muffins. I like coffee cake that has a bit of a crumble, so I didn’t use xanthan gum here. Still, these will generally hold together pretty nicely (i.e. you’re not gonna need a fork — maybe just an extra napkin to catch the crumbs). Note that these muffins are best when served day of  (so, great it you’re serving a crowd), but do tend to dry out when refrigerated.

2 cups sorghum flour

1/3 cup tapioca flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup unsweetened soy milk (or other dairy-free milk)

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

2 teaspoons Nunaturals liquid vanilla stevia

1 cup Follow Your Heart Sour Cream Alternative

1/4 cup water

Topping:

1 cup pecans

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. To a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add ingredients for topping. Pulse until nuts are coarsely chopped and mixture is combined, about 40 times.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, egg replacer and salt. Set aside.

4. Using an electric mixer, beat together milk, oil and stevia. At a slow speed, slowly add in flour mixture until incorporated into the liquid. Add sour cream and water and beat just until completely mixed in.

5. Fill lined muffin tins with a heaping 1/4 cup of the batter. Sprinkle evenly with topping and gently press topping into the batter. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in tins for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

I know I promised my red lentil kibbeh recipe, but I’m not happy with the individual photos I took of it, so it’s gonna have to wait until I can make it again. In the meantime, please enjoy these easy, healthy, moist and yummy muffins. My new barometer for a good health muffin is whether you realize it’s healthy when eating it. I had two (and a half) today and (unfortunately, perhaps instinctively) began calculating the caloric damage. Remembering that these are all whole grain, contain flax, and are sweetened with stevia helped to put my mind at ease, at least a little. Still, I had to remind myself of all the benefits. They’re not apparent upon conspumption — which is a good thing, no?

Yield: 12 muffins

Sweet Potato Muffins:

While the perfectionist in me cringed at the sight of jagged muffins tops, don’t let their exterior fool you — these are moist and spongey on the inside. The sweet potato helps them to retain their moisture well after they’ve been ziplocked away and refrigerated. I mashed my sweet potato with a little texture — mostly smooth, but enough so that every once-in-awhile you bite into an actual piece of it. It creates a pretty speckled effect with the dried cranberry as well.

2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Brown Rice Flour

¼ cup flax seed meal

¼ teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups unsweetened soy milk

2 tablespoons canola oil (plus more for greasing tins, if needed)

1 teaspoon Nunaturals vanilla liquid stevia (or two teaspoons pure vanilla extract plus 1 teaspoon NuNaturals stevia)

1 ½ cups mashed cooked sweet potato (I boiled mine until fork tender, then drained)

1/2 cup fruit-sweetened dried cranberry

Zest of 1 organic orange, washed (use a good, microplane zester for best results)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. 

2. Whisk together flour, flax, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk in soy milk, stevia and oil until incorporated into the dry ingredients. Add orange zest, cranberry and sweet potato and fold into batter until evenly distributed.

3. Using an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measure, drop batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in tins for about 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

I also used Daiya to make a focaccia pizza, then to make a wonderful, baked vegan soy-free mac and cheese. Look out for that recipe on here soon. And then I used Daiya cheddar cheese for these muffins. They are subtle and savory and best when eaten warm out of the oven. Still, they’re quite good as a snack, and I imagine that some scallions would add a really nice kick here and a nice flavor.

And no, Daiya didn’t pay me or ask me to write anything for them. No free cheese (I wishhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…but that would lead to some real trouble). I just really, really like this cheese. It’s everything you thought vegan, dairy-free, casein-free, soy-free cheese could never be. It’s good.

Yield: 12 muffins

Vegan Apple Cheddar Muffins:

1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill garbanzo/fava bean flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup arrowroot

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk (or other dairy-free milk)

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 cup grated green apple

1 1/2 cups Daiya vegan cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flours and arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in milk, agave and grapeseed oil and whisk until smooth. Fold in apples and cheddar.

3. Drop batter by heaping 1/4 cup into pre-greased muffin tins (or muffins tins lined with baking cups). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Let sit in baking tins for a few minutes before removing.

But one area where I think I could improve on in the diversification department would be sugar substitutes. I know I’ve used Truvia on here occassionally, but for the most part I’ve been an agave monogomist — rarely straying from this recently controversial sweetener. While I’ll leave the agave bashing (or myth debunking) to the experts, I will say that too much of a good (or bad) thing is probably never good. And too much of one sweetener can’t be good, either.

So, I’ve been doing some experimenting. In my recent transfer to a (more) vegan diet, I’ve sort of eliminated the possibility of raw honey — or honey — as a sweetener. Even if vegans seem to differ on whether honey is acceptable, I’d rather not alienate anyone on a strict vegan diet. It’s also perhaps a bit higher on the glycemic index than I’d prefer, as is maple syrup. Xylitol scares me. I have a dog that eats anything and everything he can get his hands on, and while I make things with chocolate, from what I’ve heard, xylitol can be a lot worse. That leaves a few options, but the most popular, natural alternative would probably be stevia. While I mentioned that I’ve been using Truvia for a few recipes here and there, 1) I found out that bee pollen is used in the processing of erythtritol, which is used in Truvia, which makes it technically not vegan, 2) there is currently no bulk Truvia baking product, which can make things tricky sometimes, and 3) like I said, I like to diversify. So, back to stevia. It’s pretty popular these days. I’ve even received a few requests for some recipes using liquid stevia. But the truth is, my tastebuds, in general, have been rather intolerant of the stuff, so I’ve usually given up on it after a few baking attempts. But after my mom sent me a recent (I’m not sure entirely unbiased or accurate — but still pretty powerful) article about some of the “dangers” of agave nectar, I thought it couldn’t hurt to revisit liquid stevia.

A few of my favorite bloggers provided some inspiration here. These apple pumpkin crumble bars from the blog Diet, Dessert and Dogs look absolutely amazing (just be sure to look for certified gluten-free oats in the recipe — and to make sure you can tolerate oats in the first place!), as do these egg-free, grain-free brownies from Kelly over at The Spunky Coconut.

For my inaugural post utilizing liquid stevia, I went with carob muffins. These not-too-sweet muffins are simple, one-bowl operation. Like I said, they are not too sweet, so you may add in a few extra drops of stevia or a few tablespoons of your favorite liquid sweetener here. Or, alternately, you might try really ripe mashed bananas in place of the applesauce. I was going for a not-so-high-sugar fruit as bananas here, but if you want to use bananas I’ve tried carob muffins with banana before and think it’s the perfect combination.

Yield: 9 muffins

Stevia-Sweetned Carob Muffins:

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup flax seed meal

1/4 cup unsweetened carob powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup applesauce or mashed, ripe banana

2/3 cup almond milk or other dairy-free milk

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon + 3 drops liquid stevia, or more to taste

chopped, raw pecans for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sorghum flour, potato starch, flax, carob, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

3. In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix together until incorporated.

4. Drop batter by heaping 1/4 cups into a pre-greased muffin tin. Sprinkle tops with a few pecan pieces. Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until tops bounce back when pressed down upon. Let cool in tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 10-12 muffins

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins:

1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill corn flour (not cornmeal)

1/4 cup flax seed meal

1/4 cup arrowroot

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 packets Truvia

1 cup lite coconut milk (shaken)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

zest of one lemon

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen and unthawed blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Whisk together dry ingredients. Add milk, oil, vanilla, lemon zest and applesauce and whisk until incorporated. Fold in blueberries.

3. Fill pre-greased muffin tin cups about 3/4 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Let rest in muffin tin for 10 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

As someone who nearly survived on muffins for breakfast throughout college (breakfast wasn’t covered by my meal plan, nor was it served in my dorm), I object to the tarnishing of one of my favorite morning treats. Sure, some muffins out there may be the size of a small melon these days. And sure, many places selling these muffins throw in ingredients that most of us can’t even pronounce — not to mention several other ingredients most of us (food allergy sufferers, that is) can’t eat. But that shouldn’t mean that muffins lose all credibility when it comes to a sensible morning option. This recipe for gluten free, vegan and agave-sweetened muffins is ladden with fiber-boosting whole grains and flax to help fill you up in the morning. Yes, there’s fat in it — but only good fat (in the form of flax) and otherwise very little oil. Pumpkin is high in antioxidants, several key nutrients and zinc. And finally, cinnamon is said to regulate blood sugar and may even boost cognitive function and memory. Round them out with some soy milk or a shake for protein (have to do my due “protein-advocacy” diligence after years of — ahem — gentle coaxing by my mom to eat more of it) and these muffins will redeem your faith (if you had any to begin with) that muffins can have a place in a healthy diet.

Yield: 12-14 muffins

Bran and Flax Pumpkin Muffins:

1 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup rice bran

1/2 cup potato starch

1/2 cup flax seed meal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

3/4 cup agave nectar

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or soy or rice)

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Whisk dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together agave and grapeseed oil. Add to dry ingredients. Add almond milk, pumpkin, vanilla and hot water to the mixture and whisk until incorporated (feel free to add nuts or raisins here as well). Fill muffin tins (greased, if not using baking cups) with batter until batter almost reaches the top of each cup.

2. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown. Let rest in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.