Whole Wheat Apricot Muffins

Make these on the weekend, then freeze for a week's worth of breakfast. Once the muffins cool completely, just wrap them individually (two layers works best i.e. first saran wrap then aluminum foil) and place in the freezer. They'll thaw quickly if you pull one from the freezer first thing when you wake up. Or, since they're even better warm, just wrap in aluminum foil and heat for ten minutes at 350 degrees.

Of course, first you have to make them!

Spoon one cup all-purpose flour and 2/3 cup whole wheat flour into measuring cups, leveling with a knife. Place the flours in a large bowl, along with 1/2 cup raw sugar, one and 1/4 tsps. grated orange rind, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir gently with a whisk, and make a "well" in the center of the ingredients. Set aside.

Make one cup of vegan buttermilk by combining one cup plain soy milk (such as Silk) with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Let stand 5 minutes then, combine the 'buttermilk' with 1/4 cup melted vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, and the equivalent of one egg (try Ener-G egg replacer).

Add the 'buttermilk' mixture to the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Gently stir in one cup of finely chopped dried apricots.

Spoon the batter evenly into 12 muffins cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes (the muffins should spring back when touched lightly in the center).

Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. One muffin is 170 calories.

(Note: I only had 2/3 a cup of all-purpose flour left at home, so I reversed the portions in the above directions - one cup whole wheat, 2/3 cup all-purpose. This substitution worked just fine).

Cost:
orange $1.39
plain soy milk $1.00
dried apricots $3.99