Cranberry-Orange Oat Bran Muffins ~ Meatless Monday

I found some frozen cranberries hiding in my freezer the other day, so I decided to use them in a batch of oat  bran muffins.  I tweaked this recipe just a bit. (I've posted about this basic recipe before, click to see that blog post)  For my version I  ~~  omitted the dates and nuts, replacing them with a cup of finely chopped cranberries.  I also replaced 1/2 cup of the milk with 1/2 cup of thawed orange juice concentrate.   The resulting muffin had a nice flavor and was a fine addition to my collection of oat bran muffins.  If you're looking for a way to use some fresh cranberries, why not add them to your muffins?  Ruby red cranberries sure jazzed up my morning muffins.  :)   Happy Meatless Monday!

Blueberry Corn-Bran Muffins ~ The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure Cookbook

This morning, I was looking at a copy of ~ The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure Cookbook.  I came across a recipe that sounded good and that would use some of the fresh blueberries I still had sitting in my fridge.  (they where on sale last week, and I bought A LOT!)   So, into the kitchen I went to start my day off baking.  As the muffins were going into the oven, our neighbors (Bill & Cheryl) stopped by, so we invited them in.  What a great way to start our day ~ warm muffins just out of the oven, a fresh brewed pot of coffee and a little chit-chat with good friends!

For being a food that claims to help reduce your cholesterol, I think these muffins are pretty good.  They have just a hint of sweetness, the blueberries are a nice surprise, and the cornmeal adds to the overall texture.  They have just a little oil, so they are really pretty low in fat, too.  If you are a fan of corn muffins, I think you might like this one.  I tinkered around with the recipe just a bit, I couldn't help myself! :)  I checked out the cookbook from our library, and I like it so much, I'm going to buy a copy of my own.  Real-time baking in my kitchen today ~ Enjoy!

Blueberry Corn-Bran Muffins
makes 12 muffins
Recipe adapted from ~ The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups oat bran (I used Trader Joe's Toasted Oat Bran)
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar (I used brown)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup fat free milk
• 2 Tbsp oil (I used Smart Balance)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen)
• 3 egg whites

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place first 5 ingredients (oat bran - cinnamon) in a food processor and pulse for a minute or two, until dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed together and are more 'flour-like', then put into a large bowl.  Combine milk, oil and vanilla, in a small bowl, then add to dry mix.  Stir together, then add the blueberries and stir again.  In a separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff and then fold them into the batter.  Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan (either greased or with muffin liners).  Bake for 20 minutes.  Best served warm.

Blueberry Rhubarb Muffins ~ healthy, low fat gems!

 

I came across this recipe for Blueberry Rhubarb Muffins and had to give them a go.  Why?  Because my neighbor, Cheryl, shared some homegrown rhubarb with me; fresh blueberries were 99 cents a pint at the market; and I found a recipe that used the two together...seemed like a sign to me!   The muffins are full of whole oats and the recipe make 12 VERY generous muffins.  I found them incredibly filling and I didn't get hungry for hours after eating them.  I enjoyed them for breakfast, at lunch and also as a snack ~ last week as I was painting and working around the house.

RoseMarie checking out the muffins as they cool...

The muffins are really low fat, so they are a bit on the dry side for my tastes ~ but perfect if you are looking for a super low fat muffin.  They were good as-is, but I preferred eating them with a schmear of  low-fat margarine or low fat cream cheese.  I also enjoyed them torn into bits and served in a bowl, covered with fat free milk.  Eaten this way, they were the perfect breakfast cereal, sorta like a 'baked soft granola'.  What a simple way to change-up a muffin into a different 'meal'.   So, if you're looking for some new recipes for baking with rhubarb or blueberries, check out the recipe over on the blog ~  Downton Abbey Cooks.  :)   

Apple Mug Muffin ~ ready in 2 minutes

This evening, I was looking around on Pinterest and saw a pin for this recipe, that came from the blog ~ Civilized Caveman.  It was for an ~ Apple Mug Muffin ~ a quick microwave recipe that's ready in 2 minutes.  The photo looked good, it was for a single serving, the recipe was gluten-free, there was no added refined sugar, it said it was good for breakfast or dessert, I was hungry and I had most of the ingredients...so, off to the kitchen I went.

I did make a couple of substitutions ~ replacing 1/2 the coconut oil (I actually used melted Olivio Coconut Oil Spread) with unsweetened applesauce (to make it a little lower in fat); honey for the maple syrup (all outta maple syrup); chopped walnuts/cinnamon for the 'streusel topping' (couldn't be bothered to chop that little bit of apple); and I nuked it in a custard cup instead of a mug (just 'cause I felt like it...shoulda used the mug :) .  The resulting 'muffin' was surprisingly good, with a subtle sweetness and flavor.  To me, it had more of a substantial cooked 'egg custard' feel to it.  I'm a fan of that 'egg-y custard' flavor, so it was right up my alley.  Since it uses almond meal instead of flour, it has a denseness that you wouldn't get from a regular microwave-in-a-cup muffin.  I think it would make a quick and tasty breakfast...but for tonight, it was my dessert.  Yup, real-time cooking in my kitchen!  Now, I need to eat dinner ~ tonight was one of those eat-dessert-first kinda evenings.  teehee

 

Hearty Ham & 15 Bean Soup with Oat Bran Muffins

I'm a HUGE fan of Hurst Beans.  Every pot of bean soup that I've made with their dried beans has always turned out great.  I'm really fond of their multi-bean soup mixes.  If I have any leftover ham in the fridge or freezer, especially if it's still on the bone, it makes for a soup that is always flavorful and delicious.

For this pot of ~ Hearty Ham and 15 Bean Soup ~ I used the Original 15 Bean Soup mix and a frozen ham bone, that was leftover from Thanksgiving.  I just followed the recipe on the back of the bag and I served it with the Oat Bran Muffins I posted about a little while back.  What a satisfying meal.  If you can find them where you live, I'd highly recommend you give them a try.  I think you'll love them as much as we do.  :)

 

Oat Bran Muffins ~ The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure Basic Muffins

Basic Oat Bran Muffins ~ Recipe from the book ~ The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure

I've been looking for ways to increase the oat bran that I eat.  I've been making a lot of hot oat bran cereal, but, I wanted more ways beyond that old breakfast standby.  I recently came across this recipe for a Basic Oat Bran Muffin and decided to give it a try.  I must say, it's a bit on the dry side, but, then again, most 'healthy' oat bran muffins are.  I also must confess, that by the time I finished them all, I had become a convert.  They really do become addictive after you've eaten them for a few days and I began to look forward to having them with breakfast or as a snack.  The actual book ~ The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure ~ by Robert E. Kowalski, has many more spins on this Basic (oat bran) Muffin recipe.  I'll be trying out those other muffin flavors and will be tinkering with them in the months ahead.

Try eating your Oat Bran Muffin with a little skim milk poured on top for a delicious spin.

The oat bran muffin is only slightly sweet, so it can go either way it terms of what you serve it with.  It's just as at home being served with dinner as it is with being eaten at breakfast.  When I finally got to the last few, they were a bit too dry for my liking.   I decided to try eating them just like my Great Grandmother Ninny would have done.  She came from the hills of West Virginia, and from a time when you never let any food go to waste.  So, if you had stale cornbread, you ate it in a bowl with a little milk poured on top.  I'm a firm believer in ~ Waste Not, Want Not ~ too.  So, eating them this way appealed to me.  Happy to report that it works like a charm for these oat bran muffins, too.  I actually think I prefer them this way and they fit perfectly in my little Pyrex custard cups.  A match made in heaven! 

So, if you're looking for another way to eat your oat bran, give these healthy muffins a try.  Check out the online recipe ~ here.   Enjoy!

Blueberry Oat Muffin-Top Scones ~ a perfect low-fat teatime treat!

I needed to finish up the rest of my fresh blueberries today, they were really on their last legs.  So, I decided to bake them in a sorta muffin-top/sorta scone ~ I'm calling them my Blueberry Oat Muffin-Top Scones.  They're perfect with a cup of tea or coffee & they're even low fat ~ Yes!  When I was making these, all I kept thinking about was the classic Seinfeld episode ~ The Muffin Tops.  It's the one with Elaine's brainy muffin-top idea, a whole lotta 'muffin stumps' & that memorable exclamation mark! phrase... 'Top of the Muffin to YOU!'  Absolute classic!  Check out some of the hilarious scenes, below...

I came up with this recipe while I was looking through the cookbook ~ Vive Le Vegan! ~ by Dreena Burton.  I was inspired to take parts from her recipe ~ Blueberry Bounty Buns ~ and combined it with some other ingredients that sounded good to me.  I came up with this really tasty hybrid of a muffin & a scone.  My recipe has egg & honey in it, so it's no longer vegan, but I think adding those ingredients really add to the overall texture & flavor of the muffin-top scones.  I also replaced part of the oil with applesauce, so it's even low fat ~ yes!    Baking them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, instead of in a muffin pan, gives them that muffin-top look ~ while also giving them the rustic appearance of a free-form scone ~ a perfect cross between the two.  I can see me tinkering with this recipe ~ a lot ~ and coming up with many other flavors.   Yummm...  My mind is brimming with ideas, I feel the beginnings of another baking tangent coming on.   :)     Enjoy!

Blueberry Oat Muffin-Top Scones

makes 12  

• 1 cup ground quick oats -->  ((grind your quick oats into an 'oat flour' using your food processor or blender))  ** if your batter is too thin to hold its shape on the parchment paper, add an additional 1 Tbsp+ of ground 'oat flour'
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (grated fresh ~ if you've got it :)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp vanilla soy milk ~ light or regular
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 Tbsp applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1  1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen)
• oats for sprinkling on top of muffin-top scones before baking ~ optional
• sugar for sprinkling on top of muffin-top scones before baking ~ optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. (first 8 ingredients)  Stir until well combined.

In another bowl, combine vanilla soy milk, beaten egg, honey, vanilla extract, oil & applesauce until well combined ~ then stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest.  Finally, add the blueberries & immediately add the wet mixture to the dry mixture.

Stir wet & dry ingredients together until just well combined.  Spoon batter onto parchment lined cookie sheet, into 12 gently shaped round mounds.  (try & say that fast 3 times! :)  If desired ~ sprinkle some extra oats and/or sugar on top of muffin-top scones, before popping in the oven.

Bake for approx. 20-25 minutes ~ or until muffin-top scones are just turning golden brown & are set in the middle.  Remove from oven & cool on cookie sheet for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.  Store in a covered container.

 

Blueberry Flax Muffins ~ Gluten-free

Blueberry Flax Muffins ~ gluten-free

I came across this recipe, from the blog ~ Meal Planning Maven ~ for a gluten-free, triple berry flax bar.  I decided to tinker with it & turned it into muffins.  ((I have a muffin tin, I don't have a mini loaf/bar pan))   Besides, I had a bunch of large, fresh blueberries that needed using up.  My adapted recipe made for a tasty, but very unusual, muffin.   All the big, fresh berries sunk to the bottom of the muffins & actually made a 'sort of' sauce.  Hmmm...

As Monty Python so famously said ~ 'Adopt, adapt, & improve.'  So, I just flipped the muffins over & I served them as an upside-down, blueberry mini cake/dessert.  They were a hit!   It's nice when you can just change up the presentation & still walk away a winner.  :)   Enjoy!

Blueberry Flax Muffins ~ gluten-free 

8-12 muffins
 
1/2 cup            unsweetened apple juice
1 cup               ground flax seeds

1/2 cup            vanilla whey protein powder ~ gluten-free
1                      egg, beaten

1 tsp                cinnamon
1/8 tsp             ginger
1/8 tsp             nutmeg
1/2 tsp             baking soda
1/4 cup            honey

1 1/2 cup         fresh blueberries

~                     Pam, cooking spray

1)     preheat oven to 300 degrees

2)     spray muffin tin with Pam/spray cooking oil

3)     in large bowl mix the apple juice & flax seeds ~ let sit for 10 minutes 

4)     add the next 7 ingredients & stir until just combined

5)     gently fold in blueberries

6)     divide batter evenly between muffin cups & bake approx. 15 minutes or
         until a toothpick  inserted into the middle comes out clean
          ~ be careful not to over bake

7)     let cool about 5 minutes & remove from muffin pan ~

        ~ serve as either a muffin or as an upside-down mini cake, store in fridge

One of my favorite things to do with blueberries is to add them to fruit salad.  There's something about that fruit that just makes me happy...

Low Fat Vegan Banana Nut Muffins / Cupcakes

                Lowfat Vegan Banana Nut Muffins  ~~~~~~

Welcome Spring!  Today is the first day of spring and as the saying goes ~ Spring has finally sprung!  I am sooo ready for spring & all the beauty that it brings.  I just love seeing all the bulbs that are popping up in everybody yards/everywhere, just like little bouquets of buried treasures.  I forget from year to year where I have planted bulbs & it's so nice to take my morning walk around the house to see what new, colorful blooms have joined the other flowers in the garden.  

We have been having record breaking warm weather here in the Midwest this past week & it has been perfect for having my morning cup of tea outside, on the front porch.  When Roy gets up he likes to have his tea outside, too...as well as a muffin, or two.   I'm actually kind of glad when I end up with some really ripe bananas, it gives me an excuse to make banana muffins.  Is there any better way to use REALLY ripe bananas?  Nope, don't think so.  For us, muffins are the perfect portion control size & everybody gets an equal number of muffins.  Very important when they go so fast.  :) 

This Vegan Banana Nut Muffin recipe from FatFree Vegan is almost fat free ~ VERY COOL ~ & since it's vegan, it's egg free, too.  If you don't care if it's vegan, just use milk instead of the soymilk.   J really loves these, he would eat them for breakfast, for lunch & after school, if he had the chance.  Sometimes I will 'frost' one of the muffins with Nutella & presto chango ~ he has a cupcake.  Pretty tricky! 

When I add Nutella to the top of one of the Banana Nut Muffins, it suddenly becomes a 'Chocolate Frosting Cupcake'  ~ J can hardly contain himself!  If he only knew, it's the same healthy muffin he had at breakfast, just dolled up.  Shh, it's my little secret...  :)

Skinny Girl Blueberry Muffins

Skinny Girl Blueberry Mini Muffins

Gray, dreary, rainy weather = baking.   These are some healthy muffins I made from a recipe created by Skinny Girl, Bethenny Frankel.   (on the link, her's is the third recipe down)  

The recipe uses oat flour, so it's gluten free. (to make oat flour just grind up some gluten-free oatmeal in your food processor, easy-peasy)   It's also egg free, so it's OK for vegans.  The recipe calls for soy milk, but I just use lowfat milk.  I love having an excuse to use fresh blueberries, but you could use frozen ones, too.  Some powdered sugar, sprinkled on top, would look pretty. 

I often make muffins in my mini muffin tin, just adjust the baking time a bit.  I like the idea that I can have three muffins instead of just one, calorie-wise it's all the same.   3 mini muffins = 1 regular muffin = 1 happy camper.  There is something about being able to keep reaching for more muffins on the plate ~ it trips my trigger.  Mind games, I know, but it works for me.   :)

Time to make a pot of English tea & eat many little mini muffins.  Rainy day?  Is it raining?  I didn't even notice.  Another muffin?  Don't mind if I do.   :)

Meyer Lemon Almond Muffins ~ Breakfast, Brunch or Tea Time Treat

Meyer Lemon Almond Muffins

(Updated 4/29/13 ~ Sorry to say, but the original recipe I linked in this post to is now MIA.  In Feb 2012, I found the recipe on FoodBuzz and it is no longer there.  I wasn't savvy enough at the time to know I should always go to the blog source for a recipe link, and that I should not rely on a recipe sharing site (like FoodBuzz) for my link.  So, I am now unable to locate that recipe. :(  

I've honestly searched the web for over an hour, looking for that Meyer Lemon & Almond Muffin recipe ~ but no luck.  I've modified my blog text and *supplied new links to recipes that are similar (as much as I can remember way back then) Now, none of them uses almond flour/almond meal in their recipes, but you can replace about 1/3 of the flour called for with almond flour/meal if you'd like.  Since I can't find the original recipe I used, I guess I'll just have to come up with one of my own! :)  Sorry for the confusion)

Growing up in California means you are surrounded by citrus trees. They are everywhere ~ in backyards, orchards & nurseries. We had a HUGE lemon tree in our backyard.  We used to give away bags & bags & bags of lemons every year.  The scent of really ripe lemons always takes me back to my childhood.  So, when they had Meyer Lemons on sale at the store a few weeks ago, I bought a couple of bags. Winter skies need some sunny, yellow lemons to help them be less dreary.

I surfed the net & found an unusual recipe that uses the entire lemon as part of the batter. First time I have seen that.  You remove the seeds & then add the lemon, peel & all, to the food processor & away you go.   *As I mentioned above, the original recipe I found used almond flour for part of the flour, but unfortunalely, that recipe link is no longer available.  But, here are some other Meyer Lemon Muffin recipes that sound really good...

Low Fat Meyer Lemon Muffins ~ from the blog My Kitchen Adventures

Meyer Lemon Muffins ~ from the blog Gas-tron-o-my

Meyer Lemon Muffins ~ from the LA Times Food Section

It turned out really good & makes an exceptionally pretty muffin, especially with a bit of sliced lemon on top & sprinkled with powdered sugar.   I think I will play around with the recipe a bit & see if I can get it even more lemony.  These would be perfect with breakfast, brunch, tea time or for an after school snack.  These Meyer Lemon Almond Muffins make even a gray, Winter day feel like a sunny day in Springtime.  :)

Perfect for Tea Time

Cooling...

Checking to see if it's done...

Mixing it up...

Healthy Appetite ~ Gordon Ramsay Style

Fresh Broccoli Soup ~ Gordon Ramsay is my new cooking hero. I've been watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, UK. I just love it!  He made this in one of the episodes. I boiled it in plain water & used Chicken "Better Than Bouillon" instead of adding salt, just added it when blending. Roy thought it was too green, but J & I loved it! Low cal/carb, quick & really tasty. What's not to love? http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/161419/broccoli-soup-gordon-ramsay

I am a big fan of Gordon Ramsay.  His shows are entertaining & his recipes are good.  I especially like his more recent cookbooks, the ones where he focuses on healthy foods/recipes that are easy to find & kid friendly.  I read through his newer cookbooks from time to time & they not only inspire me to try a recipe, they inspire me to actually go into the kitchen to make it for us, right then & there.  As long as I can find the actual ingredients needed, or something close, it's cooking time.  :)

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins ~ from Gordon Ramsay's 2008 cookbook - Healthy Appetite, they were wonderful. We ate them all by breakfast the next day. :) The recipe made a doz regular muffins & 18 mini muffins. ~ http://plumtart.blogspot.com/2010/03/whole-wheat-blueberry-muffins.html

One of my favorite cookbooks of his is ~ Healthy Appetite (in paperback March 2012).  It is full of recipes that I enjoy making & we all enjoy eating.  Check out a copy from your local library & see what you think.

Spiced Banana Oatmeal Muffins ~ This is another recipe from Gordon Ramsay's - Healthy Appetite. I also made some cookies out of the batter & liked them much better that way. The muffins took too long to cook all the way through & got a bit too dry. I'll make the recipe again, but only as an Spiced Banana Oatmeal Cookie. They made an excellent oatmeal cookie ~ http://www.takethoufood.com/2009/01/banana-oat-muffins.html

  

Meyer Lemon & Fresh Cranberry Muffins

Meyer Lemon & Fresh Cranberry Muffins

It was cold & gray today. Time for tea & muffins. I had some Meyer lemons & cranberries in the fridge ~ perfect!  I surfed the net & found this recipe over at Everybody Likes Sandwiches.

The scent of fresh lemon quickly chased away the morning blahs.  The flavor of the lemon/muffin is subtle & the cranberries give the muffins a unique twist. The recipe made a dozen regular sized muffins, as well as a bakers dozen of mini muffins.  I would drop the temp to 375* next time, 400* was just too hot. The sides of the muffins got a bit too brown by the time they were cooked through & the tops only got to a pale golden color.  You could easily use regular lemons in this recipe.

 The muffins are now almost all gone, can't get more of a thumbs up than that.