VeganMoFo Day 14: Sharing the Love of Veganism!

Today's MoFo Prompt: " Share something vegan (and delicious, duh!) with a non-vegan"

coffee & muffin date

Well, I've had a lot of sharing to do lately.

First of all, I've had muffins on the mind for a long time now. I basically just needed a Muffin Excuse. So, when my friend and I made plans for a coffee date and a hike in the redwoods, I seized the moment. She treated me to coffee (thanks again!) and I brought along muffins.

Raspberry Bran Muffins

These are the Blueberry Bran Muffins from Isa Does It. Based on what I had in my pantry, I had to make a couple of small changes - oat bran in place of wheat bran and frozen raspberries in place of blueberries -- and these muffins were absolutely delicious! They were satisfying, wheaty without being heavy at all, packed full of raspberry goodness, and very nicely flavored. Plus, they were low in sugar and oil and pretty darned healthy, especially on a scale of muffins. I hadn't made these before, but I'll definitely make them again!

Also, I had a special reason to celebrate this month... This month marks the 21st year of my yoga practice - which makes it officially Half of My Life that I've been studying and practicing yoga. How cool is that? My very first yoga class was right at the beginning of the school year, during my senior year at Stanford. I went with a friend from the art department. The class was actually pretty weird, but it was certainly enough to pique my interest. After that, my friend started teaching a small, unofficial class on campus and I immediately became a completely regular attendee. I was a somewhat angsty art student, and I remember feeling so calm and quiet and peaceful during savasana. I wanted more of that. I had a long way to go.

After all these years of practice, my relationship with yoga continues to evolve and deepen and mature and refine. I am so deeply grateful for all that I have learned from my teachers, from the texts, and from my many hours of practice on the mat. It's amazing to reflect that over all these years, as I have changed and grown and faced a variety of obstacles in my life - Yoga has consistently had something to offer me and has consistently helped me to grow and heal. What a vast and rich subject of study!

I wanted to honor this special moment in my life, and especially to share it with my students. Teaching yoga is its own unique expression of yoga, and my students are very dear to me. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to teach the same group of people several times a week, for years on end. We develop such affection for one another, and I am able to celebrate their transformations with them and support them during their struggles. It's been a while since I made them any goodies, so I decided this was the time to treat my classes to a round of treats.

 little balls of yum time

Monday's students got these delicious "Happiness in a Cookie Bite" treats from The Abundance Diet. These little balls are so yummy and so effortless to throw together. They're also gluten-free and oil-free, and sweetened with maple syrup (and chocolate chips!). I am definitely a fan of gluten and oil and sugar, but I know that some of my students aren't, and I like to make treats that won't leave anyone out, and that won't feel too unhealthy. I know that people come to yoga class to feel healthy and light... so I figured these little treats would be just perfect. I rolled them in coconut to make them a little less sticky and a little cuter too. They are so good and such a quick and delicious special treat.

I made round mini-muffins, full-size round muffins, and full-sized square muffins. 

I love my square muffin tin so much! 

Tuesday and Wednesday's classes got these gorgeous Oil-Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from the Oh She Glows website. I told you I've had muffins on my mind! I made a double batch of batter and got 24 mini muffins and 21 full-sized muffins. That's a whole lotta muffin madness. These muffins were so good and were a total hit with my students. They are dense and moist and chocolatey and they are also one of my new favorites ever. SO GOOD. These have gluten and walnuts, so I also made a second batch of the Cookie Bites with sunflower seed butter for a gluten-free and nut-free option. You gotta meet the needs of the peoples!

muffins on the mind

beautiful perfect crinkles. That praying mantis is about to steal them all

Thursday's class got these beautiful and perfect gluten-free Snickerdoodles, also from Oh She Glows. Just look at those perfect cinnamonny crinkles! I love that Angela's recipes are so reliable that I could just make two new-to-me recipes for my students and have total faith in them, and - of course! - have them turn out totally perfect. Mr. VE&T declared these to be some of the best cookies he'd ever had. They were easy to make and came together with ingredients I already had on hand. Another instant new favorite, even for a gluten-lover like me!

It's so fun to bake treats for my students and show them that vegan treats can be delicious! One of my students was telling me about a no-good vegan waffle that her husband was served, and she told him "I'll bet Amey knows how to make delicious vegan waffles!" (true that.) I'm sorry they had a bad vegan experience, but it warmed my heart that she knew vegan food didn't have to be unappetizing! All those little treats I've brought into class over the years are a gentle and tasty form of activism - helping to change people's reactions to the word "vegan" for the better. It's so fun to see everyone standing around after class eating and chatting and happily enjoying their vegan goodies - and asking me for the recipes!