Millet Morning Glory Muffins (vegan)

It's March and I have had my fair share of oatmeal, rice porridge and hot cereal this winter. All breakfast options that I truly love. A bowl of hot wholemeal goodness is truly what satisfies me in the winter months and sustains me to the lunch hour. But still, a girl sometimes gets bored. So, today I decided I was going to venture out and eat some millet. I just learned yesterday that millet is the only grain that is alkaline compared to the other "acidic" whole grains. So basically this means that if you are looking to lower your acidic food intake and add more balance into your life, millet may be a good choice of grains for you. Variety is always good when it comes to eating grains, especially adding an option of a protein and fiber packed millet.

Millet is actually very easy to make. You basically cook it the same way you would rice. 2 cups of water to 1 cup dried millet. Add a dash of salt or pepper and then you have it. It cooks much quicker than rice, probably about half the time of what it would take rice. It could be used as a cereal in the morning to make porridge, it could be made in salads like you would use quinoa, and then you could add it to a breakfast muffin as I did today...

It has a very earthy taste, but also soft and sometimes crunchy. I bet this would be a good substitute for a couscous recipe or even a bulgur wheat recipe. If you haven't tried millet yet and you are looking to try something a little different then this is a cheap option. I can buy millet at my local market in bulk for about a dollar for 2 cups. That is pretty darn cheap. Millet is packed with a good amount of your essential B vitamins and is also a good source of iron, magnesium and potassium. Eating whole grains is usually cheaper than eating any processed box of sugar cereal, so no excuses! :)
Millet for some reason just had me thinking about morning glory muffins. They are kinda like a bowl of porridge in a muffin and that is exactly what I was looking for. No need to fill up on white flours and sugar- just add some millet and nuts and fruit and you have a nutritious punch of goodness to start the day.
Millet Morning Glory Muffin Recipe

2 cups of cooked millet (see cooking directions below)

1/2 cup of buckwheat flour

1/2 cup of tapioca flour

1/2 cup of brown rice flour

2 TB of flaxmeal

1 cup of shredded coconut

2 ts. of baking soda

1/2 ts. of sea salt

1 ts. of ground cinnamon

1 ts. of ground ginger

1/2 cup of craisins or raisins

1/2 cup of raw walnut pieces

1/2 cup of shredded carrot

1 cup of diced apple pieces

1/3 cup of light olive oil or other baking oil

1/3 cup of agave nectar or maple syrup

1/3 cup of shredded pineapple with juice (or applesauce)

1/3 cup of So Delicious coconut milk beverage (or other non-dairy milk)

1 ts. of pure vanilla

Cook the dry millet separately ahead of time. Cook one cup of dry millet with 2 cups of water. This should produce 2-3 cups of cooked millet. Then add two cups of cooked millet to a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients first, and then mix, then add the wet ingredients and mix all together well. You can either save the raisins/craisins to add on top of the muffin before baking, or add into the batter. This batter will start to gel a bit after you mix it, and then use a 1/3 cup to scoop out batter into the muffin tins. Either oil your muffin tins with coconut oil/palm oil, or use paper muffin paper. This recipe should make 12 medium/large muffins. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

As you can see, these muffins are a hearty muffin with lots of textures. They are not meant to be overly sweet, and if you want to add some sweetener or almond butter for topping that is up to you. I will enjoy mine for breakfast with a cup of tea and a snuggle from my son. I love knowing that eating this healthy hearty muffin will also be giving my son a healthy 'breakfast' in his breastmilk. Still eating healthy for two :)

I hope you have a healthy happy day!

Much love to you!

Stephanie