Happy Monday!!
As I mentioned on my Facebook page and twitter, Design Thoughts is adding on, and I couldn’t be more excited!! Starting today, I will be adding a “Recipe Design” post once every few months, to add to my “love for all thing design” Mantra!!!!! Now, I am NO cook, but a lot of my friends and fellow bloggers ARE ( Thank God) so a few of them have agreed to bless me with their amazing Recipe Designs, so I can share them with you, and hopefully learn a little myself!!!!
My good friend, Jenna Rowland, has agreed to be my first Food Designer ;)!!! I am so excited to have her, not only because our friendship goes waaay back to those crazy days growing up in Mt.Pleasant, Mi…but also because she writes the fun, witty, honest blog called The Puckstoppers Wife. Please take a minute to check it out!
Thank you, J !!!
Muah!
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Recipe re-Designs: Apple Bran Muffins
By: Jenna Rowland ( ThePuckstopperswife )
I have struggled with weight for as long as I can remember. I never tend to gain or lose at rapid paces, but I have, for years, lived the inverse rule of gravity: What goes down must come back up. It’s a bummer. But for the last year or so, I have had a handle on safe, healthy weight loss and maintenance. This week my husband had his annual physical and was told in no uncertain terms that it was time for him to back off the unhealthy, processed, refined carbs and empty calorie foods and try to incorporate more whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Funny thing…that’s how I have been eating for the last year or so! But hubby is a sucker for a muffin or cookie with his late morning coffee, and must have chips with his lunch. Well, that all ends NOW!!!
As a replacement for the store-bought (read: Starbucks) sugar packed, white flour rising, dried fruit muffins, I made these Apple Bran Muffins for him. The muffins have lots of fiber, some protein, very little sugar (only 1/3 cup) and very little fat. Here’s the recipe and my alterations to it!
Ingredient’s:
3/4 cup Kellogg’s All Bran cereal
1 cup skim milk (I use Silk Soy Milk in Original flavor)
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar (NOT packed!!)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I use a little extra salt to bring out more sweetness from the apples & cinnamon – 1/2 tsp)
1tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves (I don’t care for cloves in the recipe and replace w/ 1 tsp of ground cinnamon)
1 1/2 cups oat bran (sometimes difficult to find. But always available in the bulk baking section in health food stores–like Whole Foods)
2/3 cup raisins (we skip the raisins to avoid the extra calories and sugars and don’t miss them at all)
1 large apple, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes (tart apples such as Granny Smith work very well in this recipe. Honeycrisp is also excellent.)
1 egg lightly beaten (I have also used Egg Beaters and did not notice a difference)
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
OPTIONAL: I add 2 Tablespoons ground Flax seed. I live at high altitude and would need to add a little extra flour but use the ground flax instead.
1 cup skim milk (I use Silk Soy Milk in Original flavor)
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar (NOT packed!!)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I use a little extra salt to bring out more sweetness from the apples & cinnamon – 1/2 tsp)
1tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves (I don’t care for cloves in the recipe and replace w/ 1 tsp of ground cinnamon)
1 1/2 cups oat bran (sometimes difficult to find. But always available in the bulk baking section in health food stores–like Whole Foods)
2/3 cup raisins (we skip the raisins to avoid the extra calories and sugars and don’t miss them at all)
1 large apple, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes (tart apples such as Granny Smith work very well in this recipe. Honeycrisp is also excellent.)
1 egg lightly beaten (I have also used Egg Beaters and did not notice a difference)
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
OPTIONAL: I add 2 Tablespoons ground Flax seed. I live at high altitude and would need to add a little extra flour but use the ground flax instead.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
2. Mix the All Bran and milk in a bowl and let stand for a few minutes (as you mix the rest of the ingredients)
3. In a small bowl, combine egg, oil and applesauce
4. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir in the oat bran, raisins and apple.
5. Add the All Bran mixture and the applesauce mixture to the dry ingredients
6. Spoon into an oil sprayed 12-muffin pan. ( I use Pam or Bakers Joy. Whichever I have on hand)
7. Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Mix the All Bran and milk in a bowl and let stand for a few minutes (as you mix the rest of the ingredients)
3. In a small bowl, combine egg, oil and applesauce
4. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir in the oat bran, raisins and apple.
5. Add the All Bran mixture and the applesauce mixture to the dry ingredients
6. Spoon into an oil sprayed 12-muffin pan. ( I use Pam or Bakers Joy. Whichever I have on hand)
7. Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
I have found that to make only 12 muffins, they are pretty big. I usually yield 16 muffins.
And if you are a fan of the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program, as I am, the recipe, less the ground flax seed, yields 16 muffins with a PointsPlus value of 2! Pretty fantastic if you ask me!!
Cheers to a healthy, low-glycemic, nearly perfect Apple Bran Muffin!!
*Original recipe from Low-Glycemic Meals in Minutes by Laura Kalina and Cheryl Christian
What I love the most is how you call them “recipe designs.” So creative! Can’t wait to follow! xo Samantha
I am a friend of Jenna’s and found you through her. I LOVE the idea of healthy eating.
I’ll be following you and watching for new “recipies”