Chocolate Muffin Tops

Baking cookies is one of the things I really miss following a low-fat vegan diet.  These are about as close to "cookies" that I can get with the low-fat vegan restriction. Like the muffins below, they are not strictly vegan because there is a little bit of milk in the mix, but they are pretty low-fat*, are made with whole grain, and don't contain eggs.

1 cup Kodiak Double Dark Chocolate Muffin Mix
1/3 cup soy milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 banana

Mash the banana in a medium bowl.  Add the other ingredients and mix until blended. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and drop by tablespoons onto the paper.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove from the parchment paper with a spatula.

*A regular chocolate chocolate chip cookie might have 9 or 10 grams fat, these have about 2.

Egg-Free Pineapple Muffins

One of the challenges of trying to live a vegan lifestyle is baking.  I have always made muffins or coffee cake for breakfast on weekends.  So how do you make muffins without eggs?  This solution isn't perfect because it does have some powdered milk in the mix, but it is a compromise we can live with.

1 cup Kodiak buttermilk flapjack mix
1/4-1/3 cup pineapple tidbits, drained
1/4 cup honey
2/3 cup soy or almond milk (I like vanilla but plain works)

Mix all ingredients until just blended.  Spray muffin cups with cooking spray and fill 3/4 full.  Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown on top (about 20 minutes for smaller cupcakes.) makes 6 smallish muffins.

note: why Kodiak?

I like this mix because it is whole grain and has extra protein.  It doesn't taste as bitter as other whole wheat mixes I have tried. 

Note: if you are not vegan, just vegetarian, add an egg.  If you are not as concerned with fat, add 2 T of vegetable or olive oil.  

Asian Vegetables over Rice or Chow Mein

1 package stir fry vegetables
2 carrots: pealed and coarsely grated
4 leaves Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon peanut butter (optional, but it adds a nice flavor)
1 teaspoon vegetable bullion
3 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce (choose reduced salt soy sauce if you are concerned about sodium)
2 Tablespoons corn starch

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Cooked Brown Rice

Coat a wok with cooking spray and heat.  Add vegetables and stir fry.  When they start to scorch, add a little vegetable broth and continue frying.  Stir in the vegetable bullion and peanut butter and stir to coat the vegetables.  Mix the corn starch into the rest of the broth, and add the soy sauce, garlic powder and onion powder.  Pour over vegetables and stir until thickened. Turn heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes to blend flavors.  Serve over warm brown rice.

To make Chow Mein
Use the same recipe, but reduce the vegetable broth to 1 cup and corn starch to 2 tsp.  Stir in cooked wheat fettuccine instead of the brown rice.  Heat through and serve.

Baked Beans and Cornbread

I was looking through my recipes and realized I hadn't written this one down yet.  It isn't really a recipe.  It is more like an idea for a super fast, super easy low-fat vegetarian dinner.

1 28 oz can vegetarian baked beans (I like the Bush brand)
1 cup reduced fat cornbread mix (Krusteaz makes one, as does Marie Calendar)
Soy or almond milk (about 2/3 cup)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Empty the baked beans into a casserole bowl.  Heat in the microwave for about 3 minutes until heated  through and then place in oven. While the beans are heating, pour 1 cup of cornbread mix into a small mixing bowl.  Add enough soy or almond milk to make a slightly runny batter.  (I am afraid I never measure.  I just add the milk until it looks right.  It should be about like muffin batter, or regular cornbread batter.)  Don't add oil or eggs.

Remove the beans from the oven and pour or spoon the cornbread batter evenly on the top.  Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve.

Notes: You have to be careful about cornbread mixes.  The regular ones are loaded with extra fat. Also, most have added dried milk, so check the package first if you need to be strictly dairy free.
The beans need to be hot when you put the batter on them.  If you put it on cold, the underside of the batter won't cook.  The top may look done, but the underside will be a doughy mess. (trust me.)


If you don't have Bush's on hand, here is a recipe for fast baked beans

2 cans pinto beans

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp prepared mustard 

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Mix together and heat through.  use in place of the Bush's above.