Vegan chocolate chip muffins with flax, oats, and dried cherries.

So the ice cream van keeps playing their annoying song on our street, every day, every hour. My 6 year old goes nuts every time she hears it and insists on getting a treat, I keep telling her no, so today I tried to find a sweet and healthy alternative to the afternoon Ice cream truck. I made these muffins today, and when the van came by blaring its obnoxious theme, Ava didn’t even notice! Victory for mom! Well I made these for the kids and hubby, since I’m trying to adhere to Dr. Fuhrman’s stricter regimen I technically shouldn’t really have these, but they are a great way to get a lot of healthy in a sweet treat. I ate half of one and honestly I couldn’t believe how good these ended up considering there is no added salt, minimal sugar, no butter or oil, eggs and no refined flour.
What you’ll need:
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup flax meal (I used Spectrum brand we love how nutty and delicious it is
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ cup coconut sugar, or a less refined sugar of choice
¼ cup dried cherries or raisins
½ semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used ones with soy instead of cocoa butter)
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup almond butter (I love marathon brand, only contains almonds)
1 tbsp. Vanilla extract or inside of a vanilla bean
1 cup almond milk
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, line a muffin tin with 12 liners, I was out so I just used parchment paper squares. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients, add the wet ingredient and stir till evenly moistened. Do not over mix. Fill muffin cups ¾ full, bake 20 minutes. They will puff up, brown, and spring back when touched. I was actually shocked at how easy these were and how great the results were, I basically looked at some old recipes I had, and just substituted healthier choices. Next time I might add some cinnamon and ginger to spice them up, but in total for my first attempt at vegan bakery, I was impressed, my vegan baked good skepticism is gone, and you don’t need any of those nasty fake butter products that are marketed as “healthy”….they are not, if fat chains have to be modified in a lab….you don’t need it in your body.