"Five Star" Muffins

In keeping with my vegan attempts for the month of March, I made a batch of completely vegan and gluten free sweet potato muffins. The key ingredient in these is Chinese five-spice powder, which in my mind I keep accidentally calling "five star" powder. After making these, I think it's fair to call them "five-star" muffins : )

"Five Star" Muffins

adapted from "It's All Good" recipe

2 sweet potatoes (or 1 really large one)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

3/4 cup good quality maple syrup, plus a little extra for brushing the muffins

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups gluten-free flour (and add 1 tsp xanthan gum* if the flour doesn't include it). You can also use regular/whole wheat/spelt/whatever flour you have on hand if you don't mind the gluten. 

2 tsps baking powder

2 tsps baking soda 

1 1/2 Tbsp Chinese five-spice powder (I found mine at Whole foods; it's a blend of cinnamon, fennel, cloves, star anise and white pepper, and really takes these muffins to the next level.)

1/2 tsp fine sea salt 

*This is a binding agent to hold food particles together, making it the ideal substitute in gluten-free baking. It's a tad pricey but a little goes a long way.

Wrap your sweet potatoes in a dish towel and microwave until soft (about 8 minutes). Cut in half and allow to cool. 

Meanwhile, whisk together your wet ingredients (olive oil, milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract) in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Mix together your dry ingredients (everything else) in a large bowl and set aside.

Peel the skin off of the sweet potatoes and place into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Using an electric beater, whisk the ingredients together until blended. Add in the dry ingredients until everything is mixed.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Prep a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners and spoon the mixture into each section. Bake for 12 minutes, then baste the top of each muffin with maple syrup. Bake for another 5 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Note: like many homemade baked goods, these have no preservatives and therefore will dry out/get yucky quickly when left out. Keep these in a sealed container in a dry, cool place and transfer to the refrigerator after a day or so. They should then keep up to 5 days. You can also freeze them and defrost as you need. 

Diary of a (Partial) Vegan: Week One

Veganism has its moments. One minute you are feeling extremely pleased with your dietary choices, the next you are mid-bite into a Twix and realize you’re an idiot; that has milk in it. My biggest tool for my successes this past week has been planning. I mapped out my major meals for the week and grocery shopped appropriately for a vegan lifestyle. However, I’m unable to control the lingering non-vegan items in my pantry/fridge/freezer. There were eggs taunting me from the refrigerator door and chocolates on the top shelf of my pantry that I swear were whispering “eat me” every time I walked past. By the middle of week I started feeling bored with my vegan meal options and subsequently turned to eggs and dairy to expand on my choices. And on Friday I completely fell off the bandwagon and had a chicken wrap for lunch. 

I'm not a nutritionist, but I do know that there are many factors to consider when you eliminate major food groups from your diet. Important things like protein and even fiber from grains (if you are trying to also watch calories and not eat bread/pasta/etc. all the time) can be compromised by following a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. I will admit, some poor planning on the nutrient side led me to lack energy and have some unpleasant stomach aches during the first few days. Everything is a process, and I'm learning now how to be conscious of the nutrients I get from a meal based on what kind of diet (no gluten, no meat, etc.) it follows.  

As I explained here, my 22 day challenge is to be vegan as much as possible. A brunch with fellow blogger Steph of Steph's Spot on Sunday was an exception, and that aforementioned Twix incident may have happened a few times (this is what I get for keeping a candy jar on my desk for my co-workers). I’m lucky enough to be making these food choices voluntarily, versus having health issues dictate what I can and cannot eat. Because of that I can decide at the start of each day what to eat to keep me happy and healthy. 

Overall I am enjoying the way this foodie challenge is going; it’s showing me that cutting out meat from your diet is not as hard as you might think. Going into week two I will continue to try and eat vegan whenever possible. My main focus though has shifted towards developing ways in which I can incorporate vegan/vegetarian meals into my everyday lifestyle.

On to week two! 

Spring Scarf Swap

Happy Saturday! I've got a fun event for you all today: a Spring Scarf Swap! I'm pairing up with my favorite blogger friend Steph over at Steph's Spot Blog!

Here’s how it works: To enter, leave a comment on this post with your name & email address. You can also share your social media info (twitter, instagram, blog, pinterest etc.) so the person you’re paired with can get some ideas of what you might like. You’ll be randomly paired with another entrant, and you will shop for and send them a new spring scarf - we are suggesting a price point $20.

We will accept entries until Monday, March 31^st then Steph and I will randomly pair up the entrants and post the pairings on our blogs Tuesday, April 1^st. You’ll have until Tuesday, April 15^th to do your shopping and get your scarf in the mail to your partner. And don’t forget to show off your new scarf via social media using our hashtag #SpringScarfSwap!

Please be respectful of others; your sign up means you are 100% committed to participating. 

If something happens and you are no longer able to participate PLEASE reach out to one of us immediately. We don’t want anyone left without a scarf!