Healthy = Healthy!

It's not that I feel guilty, per se, for the overly sweet and fatty foods I've been making of late but sometimes you just feel like something that might actually be good for you. I went in search of a tasty, healthy muffin and came across these wildly popular bran muffins on All Recipes.

Their popularity is undoubtedly rooted in the versatility of these simple muffins. Don't want oil? Yank it out and replace it with healthy applesauce, pumpkin, cooked and pureed carrots, squash or banana! Want some extra oomph? Add shredded carrots, dates, pecans, walnuts, carob chips or coconut. It all works!

I, personally, am a big walnut fan so I played it safe and kept it simple. I used applesauce and a little cinnamon to compliment that then threw in some walnuts. These make the perfect on-the-go breakfast because they're packed with all that healthy junk I've been neglecting lately. AND the applesauce makes them incredibly moist and so tasty!


CLASSIC BRAN MUFFINS
Adapted from All Recipes.com, Submitted by Janet Kalman Villada

1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup applesauce
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2. Mix together wheat bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Beat together applesauce, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended. Fold in walnuts and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.

4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!