Gluten-Free Oat Bran Muffins (Vegan Friendly)

Gluten-free oat bran muffins aren’t something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. Lately, however, I have been craving one of those giant, coffee shop bran muffins. You know the ones. They’re huge, usually have something really sugary crumbled on top and look all perfect in their rustic parchment paper wrapping, smug with their glutenous, sugary goodness. The reality of those coffee shop muffins is that no matter how many seeds they try and cram into them, they’re really just earthy looking cupcakes. For example, the Apple Bran Muffin from Starbucks contains 34 grams of sugar. In case that number is a little abstract, that’s the equivalent of 8.5 sugar cubes.

A Starbucks Apple Bran Muffin contains the equivalent of 8.5 sugar cubes, or 34 grams of sugar.

See? Cupcake. And a really, really sweet one at that. Since sharing that I am pregnant, a lot of people have been asking how I deal with cravings. At this point, having lived the UnDiet life for a solid 10 years, though cravings do creep up sometimes, acting on them is not an option. See, having a craving (which I have had for licorice, maple-glazed donuts, and all the white potatoes in addition to muffins), and actually wanting to eat all of those items are two very different things for me. It’s been my experience that two things typically happen when it comes to cravings:

1. They pass.
2. We can find a whole and healthy option that fulfills the craving.

The benefit to going at it this way is that I typically feel good and satiated, without the sugar crash or greasy mouth residue that most conventional packaged products will leave behind. And pregnant or not, our energy is an incredible valuable currency that is not worth wasting by allowing empty calorie junk food to vampire it away.

What Is The Difference Between Rolled Oats and Oat Bran?

You’ve likely heard of bran, right? Typically the bran you find in muffins and cereals is a wheat bran. You may be into rice bran which is super high in tocotreinols (vitamin E). A whole grain has three parts. The endosperm (which is the fluffy sweet bit), the germ and the fiber, the husky outer layer.

• Whole Grain Rolled Oats: Here we have a whole oat grain, pancaked by a roller. You may find them referred to as “steel cut” which means they have been sliced and diced a little to increase their cooking time. Whole grain rolled oats include the oat bran (fiber), endosperm and germ.
• Oat Bran: This is just the fiber bit of the whole oat grain. It is the outer layer of the oat grain, once the inedible husk is removed.

If processed in a gluten-free facility, oat bran is a gluten-free alternative to wheat bran. Now it’s time for these seriously awesome, delicious and easy gluten-free, vegan-friendly, super fibre-powered Gluten-Free Oat Bran Muffins. They are hearty, filling and satiating. An extra bonus being pregnant, they also help keep things regular – a magical feat at this stage in the game. I enjoyed my muffins with a slice of organic, unpasteurized, lactose free cheddar (one of the few sources of protein I’ve been able to eat consistently over the last several months), slathered with ghee, or dolloped with some almond butter. They’ve been a great addition to my elixir breakfast and a great snack to have before I do a little yoga or pilates, or go for walk. Print