Jade's Touch of Bran Muffins (vegan version)
TouchofBran, a photo by Jadxia on Flickr.
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup (4 oz.) wheat bran
1 Tbsp. chia seeds (optional: lightly ground in mortar & pestle)
½ cup (4 oz.) boiling water
1 cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup oat bran (if you can't find oat bran, you can just use more whole-wheat flour)
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
⅓ cup vegetable oil (I use safflower, but any non-flavored oil will work)
1 cup (8 oz.) soy milk
¼ cup (2 oz.) orange juice (juice from one orange)
1 cup (4.25 oz) dried cranberries
DIRECTIONS:
1) Pour boiling water over bran cereal and chia seeds and let sit to soften and partially cool, about 10-15 minutes.
2) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3) In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4) Add oil and bran mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well.
5) Add soy milk and orange juice, beating well to form a thick batter. Let the batter rest for ten minutes.
6) Fold in cranberries.
6) Fill 12 muffin cups with batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
ALTERNATIVE: Instead of cranberries, try mixed dried berries, freeze dried strawberries, raisins, or minced zucchini and carrot, etc.