Vegan Blueberry And Walnut Muffins

I've recently been in a rut. A baking rut.


You know how sometimes you get to that place where all you ever do is make the same few dishes over and over? Yep, I was in that place. Even nutritionists/foodies sometimes put it all in the too hard basket, which is firmly where I was planted until this week. This week my mojo is back! And I'm celebrating with Blueberry and Walnut Muffins, from one of my favourite foodies - Oh She Glows.

Sometimes the best thing I can do is scroll through all the recipes I've saved on Pinterest (ps. JL Fit Nutrition is on Pinterest, go check us out!) and let the inspiration flow. That inspiration led me to this recipe, something I've been meaning to make for ages. Blueberry, banana and walnut muffins made with spelt flour? I'm in! They turned out as good as they sound, even with a few tweaks (due to using up all my coconut sugar and maple syrup on some disappointing brownies that henceforth we shall never speak of again).

I used date paste (literally just dates blended up into a paste) instead of the coconut sugar and rice syrup instead of the maple syrup, which meant they were really moist. I also used coconut milk instead of almond or rice or whatever the original said because that's what I had a can of. Laziness wins again!


These were so tasty I ended up eating three in one sitting before my brain told me this was a bad idea. Digestively speaking this did indeed end up being a bad idea, so keep this story in mind as an example of "do as I say, not as I do.." or else suffer the consequences of an abnormally high fibre intake. But in all seriousness I can't wait to make these again, they were everything you could want in a muffin - sweet, juicy, moist, lightly-spiced with little pops of crunch from the walnut pieces. Just stick to one at a time...

Vegan Blueberry and Walnut Muffins
Makes 12, adapted oh so slightly from this recipe.

2 small ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup date paste
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (or an unmeasured splash, if you're me) coconut milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 cups  spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup chopped walnut pieces
1 cup frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 12-hole muffin tin.
2. Place mashed banana into medium bowl along with the date paste, milk, vinegar, rice syrup, and vanilla.
3. Melt the coconut oil in a small pot over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
   
5. Stir coconut oil into the wet mixture. Pour wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
   
6. Gently fold in the walnuts and then the blueberries, being sure not to overmix as this can result in dense muffins.
   
7. Spoon about a heaping 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin tin, filling each tin about 3/4 full.
   
8. Bake at for 25-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (date paste can increase cooking time but will also add moisture so err on the side of more cooking time unless you want a muffin that's soggy in the middle. Maybe that's your thing...power to you).
9. Cool in pan for 5-8 minutes and then transfer muffins to a cooling rack and cool for another 15 minutes.