Thursday, June 21, 2007

Healthyish Muffin Recipe

I stole a recipe off the Malt-O-Meal box and changed it around a bit, and I loved the results! It sorta tastes like a mix between cornbread and banana bread, but different. They're not low-fat but very high in nutrients if you use the flax seeds and oil, and Malt-O-Meal/ Cream of Wheat is superhigh in iron, folic acid, and B vitamins, and cinnamon is high in iron and reduces your risk of cancer. They have a slightly buttery taste, and I think even those that don't like Cream of Wheat would like these muffins.

1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed
3/4 cup Malt-O-Meal or Cream of Wheat, uncooked
1/2 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil ( I used flax)
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 Banana (puree it first)
3/4 cup Walnuts

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until moistened (don't overstir). Pour into greased or paper-lined muffin pan, filling 3/4 full. Bake 18-20 minutes (it only took 15 in my gas oven, so keep an eye on it) or until center is firm to the touch.

Yields 12 muffins.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yay...new posts! :) I have been making muffins for Justin's breakfast lately...cuz it's cheaper than buying granola bars or something less filling. I'll have to give these a try...what do you think about ommiting the bananas...I don't like 'em. They sound delish otherwise though. :0)

Anonymous said...

Okay one more thing...might sound kinda silly but...what is flax seed (oil)? I have never heard of it or used it. Do you subsitute it for veggie-oil?

Carly Fay said...

I know, sorry I've been so insanely busy with the house! I'll post progress photos soon... There's a lot of stuff we won't have done before the housewarming, darnit all. Matt's been working 10 hour days in Federal Way plus 5 hours commuting, so it's been all me, and I'm not a pro (yet)!

I'm all about making things in bulk for Matt's lunches/ breakfasts too, so muffins and breakfast bars are awesome. Cheap too! I'll be trying out other recipes too so I'll post them if they're worth sharing. Everyone needs healthy yummy recipes! ;-)

You could use applesauce instead of banana, or stick any fruit in the blender and it'd probably be about the same result. It's one of those recipes that can be substituted all over the place.

Flax seed/ oil is one of the best "superfoods" - has some really essential nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. You can buy the oil at any health food store/ Super Supplements, possibly even the grocery store (haven't checked, I'm married to Super Supplements, haha), and a big bag of ground flax seed is only $2 at any grocery store (keep it in the fridge to retain the nutrients). I use flax oil instead of vegetable oil in most recipes (and in smoothies), and ground seeds in place of some flour (not all!) in baking recipes, and I sprinkle it in pretty much everything. If you don't have flax on hand for this recipe just use veg oil and replace the ground seeds with flour. It's a much more complex and rich taste with the flax though, and much healthier. :-)

Carly Fay said...

Update update Matt says they need slightly more sugar. ;-) I'm also hearing about sweetening baked goods with agave nectar... I'll try it and let you know! :-)

Carly Fay said...

Okay, we've agreed that replacing the milk with vanilla soymilk would add the sweetness Matt wants, plus maybe a tad of brown sugar... Still going to try that agave nectar on my next baking adventure (assuming I can find it...probably at the co-op or my dear Super Supplements), so I'll post about it when I do. :-) Even without the changes it's pretty darn good.

Carly Fay said...

Oh, I just remembered - Walmart sells flax oil in their vitamin aisle.