Which Came First- The Egg or the Flax Seed?

When changing to a plant based diet, I told myself that some changes would need to be gradual.  I knew I couldn't totally change overnight in every single aspect.  I guessed that I might need to have a meat product every great once in awhile.  Surprisingly, I have never missed the meat.

I thought I might slip up with the dairy thing once in a great while, but those slip-ups have been few and far between.  I actually like the almond milk we drink much more than I ever liked cow's milk, although I was never crazy about milk in the first place.  I thought the cheese thing might be hard, but other than missing my parmesan reggiano in the early days of plant based eating, it has not been a problem.  I actually prefer a more clean looking and tasting dish rather than cheese oozing all over the dish, obscuring the actual taste of the other ingredients.

The one thing I have not been able to totally let go of is the humble egg.  I have continued to buy a half dozen eggs, which last me at least six weeks.  That is certainly not many eggs, but it bugged me that I still felt the need to purchase any eggs.  I don't miss an actual egg dish, such as a breakfast dish.  I have missed the egg in the baking that I sometimes do.  I was convinced that a dish which used ground flax seed instead of egg would be limited in the rising ability of that recipe. 

Well, I decided to address this problem with a new recipe.  The recipe actually called for eggs, but I went ahead and made the ground flax seed substitution.  The muffins rose just as much as I think they would have if made with eggs.  I could tell a slight difference in the texture of the muffins.  They seemed to be just slightly heavier, but they contained a lot of fruit in them, so that may be the reason for this. 


Here is the recipe.  I will be using these for breakfast at work this week. 

CINNAMON APPLE RAISIN MUFFINS

2 medium apples, peeled and chopped

1 Tbsp. water
1 ¾ cups flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. ground flax seed, mixed with 6 Tbsp. warm water, let sit 10 minutes
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup applesauce
½ cup raisins
½ cup toasted, chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400.

Microwave peeled and chopped apples along with the water in a microwave safe bowl for 2 ½ minutes.

Combine apples and all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Divide mixture into oiled muffin tins or muffin tins with paper cups. 

Bake for approximately 17-23 minutes.

 NOTE:  Can also be made into a loaf.  Cook for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

 Makes approximately 16 muffins.

 Now I can't wait to try more recipes sans eggs. 

Husband's note: Lord these were so darn good!