Vegan Low Fat and Sugar Free Chocolate Muffins Recipe

I love chocolate. It’s my favorite variety of ice cream, smoothie, cookie, cake and muffin. Cocoa gives chocolate its flavor and has many health benefits, but unfortunately the cocoa in chocolate bars and foods is often accompanied by unhealthy ingredients. Chocolate muffins sold in stores are frequently high in fat and sugar, and may contain artificial colors and flavors too.

Luckily, muffins are quick and easy to make at home, where it’s easy to control their ingredients. The recipe for chocolate muffins shown below is very low in fat. Although no oil or fat is included in the list of ingredients, the muffins aren’t completely fat free, since the rice milk sold in stores contains a small amount of added oil. The pumpkin puree and apple sauce in this recipe provide the texture that fat usually supplies in baked goods.

The muffins contain no sucrose (table sugar). They are also dairy free, so they are suitable for people who are allergic to dairy products, and contain no animal products, so they are also suitable for vegans. The muffins are nice to eat as a snack or as part of a meal. They also make a delicious dessert when they’re eaten with vegan chocolate pudding or vegan ice cream.

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vanilla rice milk (without added sugar)
1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
1/3 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
1/3 cup of agave syrup

Agave syrup is obtained from the agave cactus. The makers of the brand that I use claim that their agave syrup has a glycemic index of 39 or less, meaning that it has a low effect on blood sugar level. Agave syrup and agave nectar are high in fructose, however, and like any concentrated sweetener, they shouldn’t be used in large quantities. Regularly eating large amounts of products that are rich in concentrated fructose may increase the level of triglycerides in the blood, which can cause health problems.

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda together.
In a separate bowl mix the pumpkin puree, apple sauce, agave nectar and rice milk together.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Be careful not to over-stir the mixture.
Spoon the mixture into 12 oiled or lined muffin cups, filling each cup about three quarters full.

Bake the muffins for twenty to thirty minutes. I check to see if they are done after twenty minutes, but in my oven they need to bake for a bit longer.

The muffins are ready to take out of the oven when a skewer or toothpick that is inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Once they’re out of the oven, leave the muffins in their pan for five to ten minutes, then remove them from the pan and cool them on a wire rack before eating.

I enjoy chocolate and chocolate flavored foods for their taste, but cocoa is a very healthy substance. Cocoa contains chemicals called flavonoids which benefit us in several ways. The best studied flavonoid in cocoa is epicatechin, which seems to be especially helpful in maintaining cardiovascular health. There is evidence that, like aspirin, cocoa flavonoids inhibit the clumping of platelets together to form blood clots. Blood clots inside blood vessels can cause heart attacks and strokes. Cocoa flavonoids also act as antioxidants and researchers have shown that they can reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol). Oxidized cholesterol can cause the buildup of deposits called plaque in arteries, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. Cocoa also seems to reduce inflammation and hypertension (high blood pressure).

Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that the Kuna people living on Panamanian islands, who drink a great deal of cocoa, have significantly lower incidences of heart disease, cancer and Type 2 diabetes than the Kuna people living on the mainland who don’t drink cocoa. This isn’t proof that cocoa can prevent cancer and other diseases, but it’s certainly interesting information! The health benefits of cocoa may be negated if the cocoa is eaten with lots of fat and sugar, though, since these increase the risk of health problems. In addition, the research that has been done usually examines the effects of cocoa ingested as a drink or in chocolate rather than inside baked products.