Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Bran Flax Muffins

Expectation: That the recipe on the bag wouldn't be anything to write home about.

Winning Recipe: Bran Flax Muffins


This recipe is an old favorite. Years ago, my mom and I bought some flaxseed meal because we had heard about it's health benefits, and wanted to see what we could do with it. So, we tried the recipe on the Bob's Red Mill bag, and were blown away! These muffins are fantastic. They are full of great things: two whole grains (including healthy flaxseed), carrots, apples, raisins and nuts! And they are a perfect on-the-go breakfast, as they are quite filling.


I can't take any credit for these, but I just had to post them. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white flour
3/4 cup flaxseed meal
3/4 cup oat bran
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups carrots, shredded
2 apples, peeled and shredded (any consistency from chunks to applesauce will work)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup nuts, chopped (I use walnuts)
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease muffin tins or line with paper baking cups; set aside. Mix together flour, flaxseed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in carrots, apples, raisins and nuts. Combine milk, beaten eggs and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Yields 15 medium muffins.

Nutrition facts for one muffin:
178 calories
2.4g fat
37g carbohydrate
4g fiber
GI 90
GL 33

About the grains:

Flaxseed is a great source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The grain has a tough outer coating that must be crushed or ground in order to unlock the nutritional benefits, including large amounts of fiber as well as natural antioxidants. Flaxseed Meal is ground up flaxseed. It can be used in most recipes as a substitute for white flour, eggs (1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal plus three tablespoons of water = 1 egg), and oil or butter (3 tablespoons = 1 tablespoon of butter, margarine or oil). 


Oat Bran is the outer coating of oats, which contains the bulk of the soluble fiber and other nutrients. Oat bran is a good source of iron, potassium and thiamin. The carbohydrate content of oat bran is even lower than that of whole oats. It is a safe bet to substitute 1/3 of white or all-purpose flour with oat bran in many recipes. It can be found at most supermarkets, and it has a GI value of 55. 

New Town, New Kitchen

Many of you know that I have moved to Seattle, and I am finally settled enough to write a post! Along with the new town, which I love so far, I now have a new kitchen! Well, it's not new at all, it's actually quite old. But, it's new to me, and it feels HUGE compared to my last one.

The really exciting news, however, is the oven. I turned it on the other night to reheat some pizza, and set it to 300. About 10 minutes later, once it was preheated, I checked my handy thermometer that I had stuck in there, and sure enough it read: 400.

So now I have an oven that is 100 degrees higher than it says! This will be fun...