Recipe: Amish Apple Muffins

When my boyfriend asked me what I'd like for Valentine's Day I was stumped for a bit then told him: "I'd love some sugar-free baking books." And he came through for me with 4 different cookbooks (plus flowers etc) :) 3 of the cookbooks are by Amish writers from this store: Amish Mart. I'm not sure why the Amish have a penchant for the refined-sugar-free way, but I appreciate it! My book is especially funny because besides the recipes and extra tips about how to cook with whole grains and such, there are 'Spiritual Nugget's. Some of them I don't quite relate to (Repentance, over & over again, really?) But some I like ("The secret of contentment: A grateful heart to God"...closer to my way of thinking). 


This is the first recipe I've tried from my new books and I've only tweaked it a little bit. This muffin is light and tasty (as voted by my friend & Ayurvedic enthusiast Ellen Borengasser), and is perfect for breakfast because it's not too sweet. I had mine with fresh raspberries in the sunshine of the bench outside The Mindful Body one day after teaching Mysore. I hope you all enjoy these little muffins and that they make your day brighter! :) 


Recipe modified from "Wow! This is Sugarfree!" by Mary Yoder.
Yield: About 1 dozen.


2 eggs
1/2 c organic applesauce
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c organic apple juice
1 T maple syrup
3/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/4 c oat bran
1 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t nutmeg
1 1/2 c small diced organic apples (with skin)
sunflower seeds to top


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat liquid ingredients together. Add dry ingredients (except sunflower seeds). Mix until just moistened. Fold apples in. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top of each muffin- don't hold back; these really add to the muffin. Bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes.


*Note: Apples are on the Dirty Dozen list (have high pesticide residue) and should be bought organic as often as possible. For the other Dirty Dozen foods, as well as the Clean Fifteen, refer to my previous post: Basics: Dirty Dozen & Clean 15.

• Vata: Excellent! Use brown rice syrup instead of maple. Could use nuts of choice instead of sunflower seeds. Can eat warm with ghee or butter. 
• Pitta: Excellent! Substitute cardamom for cinnamon. Can eat with ghee. 
• Kapha: Ok. Choose oat, barley, rye, and/or quinoa flour instead of wheat. Double cinnamon. Use fruit juice concentrate instead of maple syrup. Can eat with raw honey.