Michelle's Healthy and Tasty Bran Muffins

For some reason I haven't been able to get the idea of making bran muffins out of my head all week! I was looking for something new and healthy that I could eat as a quick breakfast in the morning so I decided to try my hand at making some bran muffins that would taste good and would also be nutritious.

If you read my blog for long enough you will probably come to learn that making food "not bad for you" is just not good enough for me. I firmly believe (with a few exceptions of course) that everything we put in our mouths should be something our body can use to benefit us and make us feel great! These bran muffins are very good for you for several reasons that I will explain more below. Not only that, but they are stinkin' delicious and incredibly moist! Here is the recipe if you ever want to try it. Feel free to edit and adjust this as well as you see fit:

Ingredients:
Makes 12 muffins 

• 1 & 1/2 Cups Wheat Bran
• 1 Cup Buttermilk
• 1/3 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce 
• 2 Egg Whites
• 2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Cup Ground Flax Seed
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 Cup Raisins
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Carrots

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease muffin cups or line with paper liners.
2. Mix together the buttermilk and oat bran. Let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Beat together the eggs, applesauce, vanilla, and brown sugar. Then add it to the wheat bran mixture. Add the carrots.
4. Sift together the flour, flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the wheat bran mixture just until it's blended.
5. Gently fold in the raisins.
6. Spoon batter into the muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until you can put a toothpick in the center of a muffin and it comes out clean. 

Tips:

• To make the raisins plump and more moist before you bake them into your muffins, put them in a bowl and pour some boiling water on top of them. Let them steep for 5-10 minutes, then drain them. They will be much tastier and juicier in your muffins!
• If you don't have buttermilk, or don't want to pay for it, you can make it yourself. Simply put 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a measuring cup, and fill up to the line with milk. Wait 10 minutes and you will have a buttermilk substitute! (This is usually what I do when I bake).
• I toasted a half cup of my wheat bran in the oven to give it a more nutty taste. To do this place some wheat bran on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until it is golden brown. 
• If you like the idea of toasting the wheat bran you might like to toast a little extra to sprinkle on top of the muffins right before they go in the oven. This is what I did and it turned out great and made them look pretty too. 
• I lightly brushed some honey on my muffins right when they came out of the oven to give them a little something extra. It really finishes them off.
• I used raisins but you don't have to. You can also add chopped nuts if you would like. 

Substitutions:

• I substituted applesauce for oil. You can do this in lots of other baking recipes too. The applesauce will make the bread more moist as well as making it healthier overall. Just make sure it is unsweetened applesauce or you will be missing the point.
• I used two egg whites instead of one egg to make it a bit healthier.
• Carrots are not required for this recipe so if it weirds you out, you don't have to use it. If you want a more appley-taste you can add shredded apples instead. 
• I used 1/4 cup of milled flax seed instead of using all flour to add more fiber. If you don't use flax seed you can just use 1 cup of flour. Also, you can use whole wheat flour as well to make it even healthier. I didn't have any on hand so I just used unbleached all purpose flour and flax seed.
• I had thought about using agave nectar in place of the brown sugar. Agave is much better for you than granulated sugars. You can do this if you want. The conversion rate is 1 cup of brown sugar=2/3 cup of agave nectar. Also be sure to reduce all other liquids by a 1/4 cup since you will be introducing more liquid into the equation.
• If you can't find wheat bran at the store (often it is in the organic section) you can use other kinds of bran such as oat bran.  

 Nutrition Facts: 
Serving Size: 1 muffin

• Calories: 126
• Total Fat: 0.8 grams
• Fiber: 4 grams
• Sugar: 21 grams
• Protein: 3.7 grams
• Vitamin A: 25.8%
• Vitamin B-6: 6%
• Calcium: 7%
• Copper: 7%
• Iron: 9%
• Magnesium: 12.8%
• Manganese: 46%
• Niacin: 8%
• Phosphorus: 10%
• Riboflavin: 5%
• Selenium: 9%
• Thiamin: 6%

*Calculated using Spark Recipes Online

Why are they so good for you?

• Lots of fiber! Bran is full of fiber and is something Americans desperately need in their diets. I wasn't really sure what bran was until very recently. In case you don't know, it is the hard outer shell of wheat (in wheat of course). When bread is made, it is taken out of the shell (which contains most of the nutrients) and is often processed and broken down even further causing it to lose much of its nutrients. No wonder we are not getting enough fiber! 9 out of 10 Americans do not get the fiber they need. The flax seed also contributes substantially to the fiber intake. To learn about the benefits of fiber read my previous blog post about fiber. 
• Low fat, low calories
• Carrots are really good for your eyes. Carrots contain two carotenoids called lutein and zeaxanthin that work together to keep your eyes from degenerating. Carrots also contain lots of Vitamin A that is a great anti-oxidant and immune system booster. Furthermore, high carotenoid intake has been associated with a lesser risk of having many different kinds of cancers. Vitamin A also helps you have better skin and helps in the formation of bones and teeth.
• Using unsweetened applesauce instead of oil is huge. Not only do you eliminate oil from the equation, but you add in apples which are very good for you and also high in fiber. They have lots of anti-oxidants in them and can also help prevent certain types of cancer.
• Using egg whites instead of egg yolks cuts down on cholesterol as well as fat. 
• Making your own buttermilk also cuts down on fat. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this recipe and I hope if you decide to make it you will like it just as much as I did! As always, thanks for reading and eating along with me!

Here is a picture of the finished product: