Raspberry Wheat Bran Muffins

How about a healthy AND delicious muffin? Yes please!

{No, Libby, you can't have one. These are alllll for me!}

That's exactly what I said when I saw these Raspberry Oat Bran Muffins featured on Peas and Thank You a while back. I finally got around to making them and I'm so glad I did!

I think raspberries are probably my favorite fruit, so incorporating them into a muffin just makes me swoon. Throw in some healthy fat (coconut oil) and a good fiber source (bran) and you have a winner!

I made a few substitutes that are noted below in purple.

Raspberry Oat Bran Muffins

Source: Peas and Thank You

Makes 12-14 muffins

1/2 c. non-dairy or organic milk (I used almond milk)

1/4 c. orange juice

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1/4 c. canola, coconut or safflower oil (I used coconut oil)

1/2 t. almond extract (subbed lemon extract b/c that's what I had)

1/2 c. organic brown sugar

1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour **see note at bottom

3/4 c. oat bran (subbed wheat bran)

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. salt

1 c. frozen or fresh organic raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine milk, juice, applesauce, oil, almond extract, and brown sugar and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, oat bran, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Add wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

Gently, gently, gently add raspberries and fold. Gently.

Fill muffin cups 3/4ths of the way, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted gently in the middle comes out clean.

I did the nutritional breakdown per muffin on these and it is as follows:

Calories 150, Fat 5.15 g, Carbs 24.8, Fiber 4.4 g, Sugar 10.71 g, Protein 2.18 g

**Ashley's Note: I had the hardest time finding Whole Wheat Pastry Flour when we lived in Texas. Here in Arizona they carry it in bulk bins at my grocery store, but if you can't find it you could try subbing half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. I think Bob's Red Mill also makes whole wheat pastry flour if you can find that.

Also, these freeze really well! I immediately stuck half the recipe in a ziploc freezer bag and threw 'em into the freezer for later. All you have to do is heat them in the microwave for a minute or so to defrost. An easy and convenient breakfast on the go!

See that one in the back left? Let's just call that Quality Control. :)

What do I do with Wheat Bran?

Remember how I talked about cleaning out my pantry a few weeks ago? Well, as I was taking inventory of all my pantry items, I found an almost-full bag of wheat bran and had no idea why I even had it in the first place.

What the heck do I do with wheat bran?!

Then I turned the package around and noticed a yummy sounding recipe for Cranberry Quick Bread.

And I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand. I also needed a breakfasty (it's a word) item to send with Alex to work the next day for his "Birthday Breakfast" with his squadron. I love when things like that happen! It's just meant to be. :)

So I got to cookin' and this recipe came together in NO time! The hardest part was waiting the hour that it takes to bake. But when it's done, you get rewarded with this beauty:

YUM! Golden brown perfection!

And the taste is really great too. It's not too sweet with the lovely contrast of tart cranberries and the bran and walnuts add a nice texture to it.

This recipe is one that I would make again and again. In fact, I would probably go make it right now, if it weren't for the fact that I'm sitting in an empty house without any of my kitchen tools. Turns out, a random package of wheat bran isn't such a bad thing to have around after all!

Disclaimer: Although this recipe may seem healthy, since it includes things like whole wheat flour and wheat bran, it really isn't (see nutritional info at the bottom of the recipe). I'm sure there are a lot of healthy substitutions that could be made for the oil, egg, orange juice, etc. but I haven't experimented with that yet. Maybe I will sometime soon though.

Wheat Bran Cranberry Quick Bread

Source: Bob's Red Mill

• 1/2 cup White Flour, Unbleached

• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

• 1 cup Wheat Bran

• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar

• 1 tsp. Baking Powder

• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

• 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt

• 1/2 cup Walnut Pieces

• 1 cup Cranberries (I used half dried and half frozen)

• 1 Egg

• 1/2 cup Milk

• 1 cup Orange Juice

• 1/3 cup Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, milk, orange juice and oil. In a separate bowl, combine flours, bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, walnuts and cranberries. Add dry mixture into wet and mix until just combined. Pour into a greased 9x5x3” loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the bread is firm in the center. Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove to rack and cool before slicing. Makes 1 loaf, yielding 12 slices.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1 Slice (87g) - Calories 220, Calories from Fat 70, Total Fat 7g, Cholesterol 20mg, Sodium 200mg, Total Carbohydrate 39g, Dietary Fiber 4g, Sugars 22g and Protein 4g.

Ashley's Notes: These could also easily be transformed into muffins, by placing the batter in muffin tins and decreasing the cooking time by about half (just a guess).