Chocolate Chip Muffins - Soooo Good and Clean

In our quest to start eating less processed food, I stumbled upon these chocolate chip muffins.  OK, first disclaimer, they can be any kind of muffin you want, but I am a chocolate addict so they are always chocolate chip muffins for me.  Second disclaimer, they could be completely vegan, but let's remember I call myself "mostly vegan" so those are real chocolate chips.  If you want them to be completely vegan you can choose another filler.

Back to the muffins.  I tend to make a dozen on Saturday or Sunday afternoon and then we are ready with a good clean snack all week. I always eat them as my morning snack.  Kids love them in the afternoon.  My husband takes them to work.  

I have made them so many times it has become a science.  My daughter LOVES to help me make them and it actually does kind of help. I put the amount in the measuring cup and she just pours it right in.  Of course her favorite part is licking the spoon!

Here is what you need:

Note this is how I have determined I like to make them...you can substitute the whole wheat flour and brown sugar if you'd like with all purpose flour or pure cane sugar. You could do 1/2 C all purpose and 1/2 C whole wheat; you could 1/4 C pure cane sugar and 1/4 C brown sugar.  Any combination you like will do, this just happens to be my favorite!  The more whole wheat flour you use, the flatter the muffins will be.  You can substitute the milk for a juice (orange juice, lemon or pineapple juice which will make them chewier).  

 

1 C bran flake cereal

1/4 C soy or almond milk

1 C Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 C brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 C canola oil

2/3 C unsweetened applesauce

1/2 C - 1 C of your mix in.  

I love chocolate chips and use about 1/2- 3/4 C of them. I've also done frozen blueberries which were good (again about 1/2 - 3/4 C) but they weren't as good to me because, I am a chocolate addict!

Here is what you do:

1.  Preheat your oven to 375

2.  Mix the soy milk and the bran flakes in separate small bow and set aside.

3.  Mix the dry ingredients first (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda)  I try to get the clumps out of the dry stuff before I mix in the liquid ingredients but I always have a few clumps left over.

4.  Add in oil and applesauce and stir again.

5.  Dump in the bran flakes and stir again (lightly this time)

6. Add in your mix in and put in your muffin tin.

7.  Bake at 375 for 22 minutes!  They are ready when they are springy to the touch!

Try this little beauties out and let me know what you think. What do you like to mix in?  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  I just believe my insides thank me for not eating yet another packaged granola bar (stay tune for make yourself granola bars!)

Original recipe taken from here:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-vegan-muffin-base-mix-in-ideas/step1/Apple-and-cinnamon/