Cinnamon Raisin Bran Muffins

Heart healthy bran muffins that are moist and flavorful with cinnamon and raisins.

How did bran muffins get such a bad reputation?  You always hear them talked about in derogatory terms especially on TV and movies.  It's always "ugh not bran muffins again, gross" like something healthy and full of fiber can't possibly taste good.  Well I'm here to dispel this myth.  My husband has always said that he likes bran muffins and I just made my first ones and they're great.  There is no "yuck" only "yum" and this was just from the recipe on the back of the box.  So don't buy into the false advertisement that bran muffins are bad.  Try them for your self and make up your own mind.  I for one am a fan.

Cinnamon Raisin Bran Muffins

Ingredients:
(modified from the back of the Quaker Oats Oat Bran)

2 cups oat bran (wheat bran would probably work too)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup Kefir or buttermilk
2 Tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 Tbsp water (or 2 egg whites)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 425 F

Combine dry ingredients, except ground flax, in a large bowl.  In a small bowl combine all of the wet ingredients include the ground flax because it is used as an egg replacement.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet.  Stir to combine then fold in the raisins.

Fill paper lined, greased, or silicone muffin cups 3/4 of the way full and bake for 15-17 minutes.  Allow to cool for about 10 minutes and remove from pan(s)

Makes 12 muffins.

Enjoy.

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Ginger Lime Muffins

A healthy, vegan, muffin made with whole wheat flour and sliced almonds with the flavor of lime and ginger.  Great for breakfast or a snack.

I had a craving for muffins and I didn't have any eggs in the house.  There are many things you can use for an egg substitute but my favorite is ground flax seed and water.  I always keep both whole and ground flax seeds on hand so this is an easy go to substitute when I'm baking.  The substitute is 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds and 3 tablespoons water for 1 egg.  Since I was using a vegan egg substitute I decided to just make the whole recipe vegan using coconut milk and coconut oil instead of milk and butter.  I also used turbinado sugar, which is what I had but it's vegan too (apparently regular white granulated sugar isn't strictly vegan because of the way it is processed). All of this combined to make a flavorful, moist, and healthy muffin.

Ginger Lime Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup oat bran

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp turbinado sugar

1 egg substitute (1 Tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 Tbsp water)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1-13.5 oz can coconut milk

zest of 2 limes

juice from 2 limes

1/2 tsp shredded ginger

1/2 cup sliced almonds toasted

Preheat oven to 375F

In a large bowl combine the flours, bran, soda, powder and salt; set aside

In a smaller bowl combine the sugar, egg substitute, oil, milk, lime, and ginger.

Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet.  Fold the wet into the dry gently until just incorporated (do not over mix).  Lastly fold in the almonds.

Grease a 12 cup muffin tin (I have silicone pans so it doesn't need to be greased) and fill each cup about 3/4 full of batter.  I find an ice cream scoop perfect for this job.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Immediately remove from muffin tins and let cool.  I let them cool completely in the silicone pans and they pop out easily.

Makes 12 muffins.  Enjoy.

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Whole Wheat and Seed Pumpkin Muffins

Soft and delicious mini muffins made with whole wheat flour, ground sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds, and pumpkin.  Quite filling.

Happy Super Bowl everybody.  It seems like everywhere I look people are posting dip and appetizer recipes for your Super Bowl party.  I'm not having a Super Bowl party, I'll be watching (and Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl) but I'm watching alone.  I'm kind of a loner and when my husband is away I sometimes go weeks with out talking to anyone (other than myself).  Don't get me wrong, I like people and when my husband's around (he is much more extroverted than me) I enjoy having people over and I love making food for people.  But if there isn't someone around to invite people over I am perfectly happy being by myself...I guess I'm just weird.  So that means I am not making anything special for the Super Bowl today.  I wanted to post something, so I decided to post my recipe for Pumpkin Muffins.  I made these a while ago and froze half of them and for breakfast this morning I pulled a few out of the freezer, microwaved them for 1 minute, and they were as good as when they were fresh from the oven.

My thought process when I originally made these was that I wanted them to be healthy and filling.  I had about 3/4 cup of pureed pumpkin, leftover from another recipe, so I used this and decided to omit added oil or butter.  I also wanted to make these a bit more filling by using ground seeds to add some protein.  The end result was great, they are not too sweet, have a mild pumpkin and sunflower seed flavor, and are tender.  Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup ground sunflower seeds (1/2 cup whole sunflower seed kernels ground in a blender)
1/4 cup flax seed meal (ground flax seeds)
4 Tbsp pumpkin pie spiced sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin
1 cup kefir (or buttermilk)

Preheat oven to 375F with the rack in the middle.  In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.  In a separate bowl mix together wet ingredients.  Meanwhile prepare muffin tin(s) for baking by either lining them with paper cups or greasing them. When ready to bake the muffins, add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Put into the prepared muffin tins and bake for about 15 minutes for mini muffins or 25 for regular sized muffins (check for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean they should be done).  Remove from pan and let cool for a few minutes before eating.  Makes 34 mini muffins.  Enjoy.

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