Lunch Box reader Céline was kind enough to send me her veganized version of Banana- Molasses Muffins from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook
(2 tsp. water in place of the egg, and strawberry soy yogurt instead of plain). They have now become a favorite of mine, especially since they call for blackstrap molasses -- a great vegan source of calcium and iron. Thanks, Céline! Alongside the muffin is some Stonewall's Teriyaki Jerquee, peas & carrots, and a lime soy yogurt topped with frozen blueberries.Verdict: Since I made the muffins the night before this was a nice, easy lunch for a busy Friday morning. Shmoo ate the top off the muffin and left the rest behind. Yes, we all know that's the best part! 4 stars.
29 comments:
Top o' the muffin to ya!
Banana Molasses sounds devine! And I'm still envious of your vegan lime yogurt. Nothing like that where I live. Only strawberry, vanilla, peach and plain.
This lunch was a great way to end the week. Thanks again Jennifer!
I had a lot of soy yogurt, but had never tried Silk's lime soy yogurt until I finally came across it this weekend. (I was home from college visiting my family- where we have an amazing new Whole Foods). I remembered that you mentioned it was Schmoo's favorite flavor and had to try some. Let me say that I owe you and Schmoo a bit thanks because it was mmmm mmmmm delicious. Now I have a new flavor of soy yogurt to look forward to every time I go home!
Great looking lunch as usual- although I've never had blackstrap molasses and am now wondering what it tastes like.
Blackstrap molasses tastes very strong and not too sweet. Nowadays I can eat it drizzled on toast with almond butter, but at first I could only handle it in small quantities in recipes like these muffins.
Oh, and it's very good in my friend Renee's gingerbread recipe:
http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2005/09/blackstrap-gingerbread-with-lemon.html
Can you suggest any books on having a vegan pregnancy....I love your blog and I'm so inspired to raise my child vegan.....but first things first....the pregnancy,lol..also I have started posting my culinary endeavors and lunches I make for my partner on my blog http://supasolsista.blogspot.com
WOW! Those blueberries are HUGE!!! :-)
I LOVE almond butter. I love it with rice mellow!
Another great lunch! Little shmoo is not alone...I eat the top off muffins and leave the rest still myself.
Have a great weekend!
lol at eating the top of the muffin. You people know there is a special pan for that, right? It's called a 'muffin top' pan. Has 6 cavities- each just less than an inch deep, but nearly twice as wide as regular muffin pan cavities. Trust me, there is never any waste with these!
I am SO inspired by these lunchboxes! I'm a packaging addict, so while I got pulled in that way (look at all those compartments!) my children benefit from the great nutrition. I just need to get on the bandwagon with more frequency.
Truly great.
Thanks,
K
I'm also really jealous of the lime fauxgurt! I want to try making my own but I can't seem to find any vegan acidophilus or whatever you're supposed to use in it (can't remember off the top of my head). Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi, Sassy Tortuga -- You can order soy yogurt culture to make your own soy yogurt here:
https://www.soymilkquick.com/scripts/order/transaction-ca.asp
Scroll down the page to "Choose Your Soy Yogurt Culture".
the vegetarian mother's cookbook is one of my favourites! although not all vegan, most of the recipes have vegan substitutions. everything i have ever made from it (including those very muffins!) has been divine!
and i love how the entire book is whole foods, whole grains, no refined sugars, only healthy oils. it's a must have, even if you aren't a momma :)
are the stonewall jerquees as good as the tofurky jurky (we only like the original flavour) I haven't seen the stonewall kind in any of the stores around here so I'd have to order them online. I think its a great idea for a lunch box.. the tofurky jurky costs so much (mostly because we eat so much so fast) that I rarely ever buy it.
That's funny, because the only kind of veggie jerky we can get at the stores here is the Stonewall kind. Shmoo fell in love with Tofurky Jerky when we went on vacation to Ohio, but now he says he likes "both jerkies the same". I still prefer Tofurky's flavor and texture, but it does cost a lot more.
I LOVE molasses. My DH asked me awhile back what molasses IS, and I had to laugh and say I actually don't know precisely. But it rocks!!! Another sweetener that I like a lot is buckwheat honey, which is quite dark and earthy, and sort of reminiscent of molasses. Although, do vegans eat honey? Sorry, I don't know if that's an option or not, now that I think about it.
i really don't like the stonewall jerquee, personally (though i love the tofurkey kind). it's got such a weird texture... definitely worth trying, though.
I've been surfing your blog for the past few days--what a fun, interesting idea for a blog.
The thing that amazes me most about your your lunches is the variety! I've noticed hardly any repeats. How do you manage that? Is your freezer stuffed with leftovers or do you just find ways to scale down recipes to a minimum of servings?
Thanks, and keep writing!
I fell madly in love with Tofurkey Jurky after discovering it a few months ago at a store here in Dallas. When I went to Austin, I found the Stonewall's brand and another kind I can't remember the name of.
I was sorely disappointed. The Stonewall's tasted HORRIBLE to me. Every time I bit into a piece, this oil seeped out, and the whole thing had an awful after taste.
The other brand whose name I can't recall was just really juicy and weird. I like my jerky dry and not extremely chewy.
Oops, meant to say that that was in response to the poster inquiring about Stonewall's Jerquee.
That's my vegan jerky two cents for everyone. It's Tofurky for me. It is more expensive, but in my personal opinion, the other two I tried weren't even worth buying.
But if Shmoo likes it, I'm sure other people do too. Try anything once.
I think it's so funny that muffin tops = good, and crusts = bad. :-)
>>Is your freezer stuffed with leftovers or do you just find ways to scale down recipes to a minimum of servings?
No, we eat up all the leftovers. My husband & I usually eat the same lunch as shmoo, so we manage to go through it all pretty quickly. We almost never go out to eat, so my life is filled with lots of home-cooking (don't weep for me -- it's one of my very favorite things to do!).
That's wonderful.
I, too, rarely eat out, but as I only cook for myself (I'm a college student) I have trouble getting variety. I think I just need to accept the idea of very scaled-down cooking and shopping (it's so hard to just buy one of anything).
I must be the only person who loves Stonewall's Jerquee! I've never had the Tofurkey kind, though, so maybe I'm just missing out? I used to be a huge fan of beef jerky, and Stonewall's totally hit the spot for me.
I also bought a muffin top pan because all my mom and I want are the tops of muffins. I still find it better to eat the top of a full muffin than from those muffin top pans! XD I must say, those blueberries look fabulous. I could totally go for some blueberries and yogurt right now...
Hi Jennifer,
I'm not yet a mother but I plan to be, and I love reading your blog. I hope you don't mind if I link it on my blog!
I have a question. My husband is sometimes concerned that our kids will be "made fun of" for being vegetarian (he's an omni). I've showed him your blog and he's relieved at the "normal" appearance of Schmoo's lunches. But I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on the issue to share that I could use to help reassure him some more.
Thanks for all your work!
Jennifer, if little Shmoo only likes the muffins tops, what I do is make "mookies" (muffin cookies).....instead of pouring the muffin batter into the muffin cups, I scoop it (like you would cookies)(I have some great ice cream scoops that come in 3 different sizes) onto a parchment covered baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes (start checking after about 8-10 minutes, each type of muffins is a little different). But they come out looking like cookies, but are made from muffin batter, and are soft and wonderful like a muffin top, but you don't have to use special pans!
What a good idea Lori - would certainly make an interesting change from 'normal' muffins.
The Jerquee looks interesting. They do offer a mixed pack with all the different flavours in it - I'm thinking I might order one to try them. Does anybody else have a favourite flavour??
Keep up the inspiring work Jennifer. I visit everyday & your lunches give me some great ideas & reminders of things I haven't made in a while.
Diana
Stonewall Jerquee is not my idea of a good time, either. The one time I bought it (roadtrip, got several flavors), I opened the bag and immediately thought "dog food". That's not the kind of smell association you want with food!
I love the Tofurkey stuff, though. My DF wants to try to make vegan creamed chipped beef on toast with it. I think it sounds disgusting, but I never liked the "real deal" to begin with!
Mmm muffin :)
R2K
I have had Stonewall jerky and I have also had Primal Strips. Although the texture of Stonewalls was closer to that of jerky the taste of the Primal Strips are far superior than that of Stonwall. We celebrated Earth Day in our sleepy little town in So. MD so the health food store I work at has many samples of the terriaki and peanut thai (my fave) that I could send you if you like.
~Danielle
Funny, i usually eat the inside and leave the top crust!
Post a Comment