Carrot, apple and sultana muffins, and musings on cookbooks and health

One of the things I love about my Mum's kitchen is this:

The cookbook collection. The ones balancing on top are my own, but there are plenty more of my Mum's in the pantry too. Many of them hold recipes that instantly conjure up childhood memories, and many of them are vegetarian, or contain decent vegetarian sections.

My Mum has eaten fish and chicken for as long as I can remember, but she has always favoured vegetarian dishes, with lots of legumes and pulses, and she introduced me and my siblings to this way of eating at an early age.

She also introduced us to carob as an alternative to chocolate, wholegrain bread and brown rice over the white varieties, and oats as a baking staple. My siblings haven't taken any of these foods into adulthood, but for my part - thank you, Mum.

Having her cookbooks at my disposal has allowed me to read over books in greater detail than I usually would. The result? I've marked a few recipes to make, but I've also been reminded of how far we haven't come in understanding health and healthy eating.

Consider this book, first published in 1993.

It's not a vegetarian cookbook, but it includes plenty of recipes with vegetables as the primary component.

It talks about health, and is based on the idea that fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals, grains, legumes and seafoods should be the main contributing foods to our diets. It discusses the roles of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, and outlines the different vitamins and minerals we need, and the foods in which they can be found.

It talks about the dietary needs of athletes, pregnant women, vegetarians and vegans, and gives example food plans for each.

It is balanced. There is nothing that seems odd, no fads, no feared or banned foods, and no extremes.

It was a refreshing read, and a stark contrast to some of the cookbooks on the market today.

This is just one example from my Mum's shelf, and I don't mean to promote the book excessively. It's simply an example of what healthy eating used to be about (and still is, in theory), and a delightful reminder of what I would like it to be about now.

This book also gave me the inspiration for the following muffins, which have captured my tastes quite effectively.

Easy, healthy, made with real ingredients, vegan, and delicious!

Carrot, apple and sultana muffins

Adapted from Rosemary Stanton's Healthy Cooking recipe for Carrot Muffins

Makes 10
Print recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp agave (or honey if non-vegan)
• Flax or egg replacer to the equivalent of 2 eggs (or 2 eggs if non-vegan)
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp apple sauce
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 1 medium apple, grated
• 1/4 cup sultanas

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180'C fan-forced, and grease and line a muffin tray to fit 10 muffins.
2. Combine the flour, oats, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Grate the carrots and apple and set aside.
4. Prepare the flax eggs or egg replacer (or eggs) and combine with the agar (or honey), soy milk, and apple sauce.
5. Add the grated carrot and apple to the wet mixture, along with the sultanas.
6. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix until just combined.
7. Bake for ~20 minutes (mine took 20, but I would check after 15).

These could be deemed suitable for breakfast, snacks, or dessert.

Which is probably fortunate, because I can see myself eating them at all three of those time points!

Do you have any 'old' cookbooks that you continue to use and enjoy? Or favourite recipes from childhood?

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