Everybody loves these breakfast muffins!  They’re super moist, flavorful and loaded with bran and oats. No flour at all!  Thanks to all the bran and oats, they’re deliciously full of fiber. They’re also packed with vitamins and are especially wonderful for breakfast this time of year. The skinny for each muffin is 218 calories, 5 grams of fat and 6 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS. You’ll love having a batch stored in the freezer, for a quick breakfast on the run.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

1½ cups honey

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup canola oil

3 egg whites

2 eggs, I love Egg-Land’s Best eggs, see healthy benefits

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups wheat bran, see shopping tip

1½ cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1¼ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup dried cranberries or raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray with flour in it. This is really a must because there’s very little fat used in this muffin, (see shopping tip)

2. In an electric mixer or in a large bowl, mixing by hand, add the pumpkin, honey, applesauce and oil.

3. Stir in the egg whites, eggs and vanilla. Mix well.

4. Add wheat bran, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt and mix until combined. Stir in the cranberries or raisins and mix until blended.

5. Fill each muffin cup just about to the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes our clean, about 30-35 minutes.

6. Let cool for 10 minutes and carefully loosen them using a spoon or dull knife before removing each muffin.

7. Clean muffin pan, spray again with cooking spray with flour in it. Bake remaining 4 muffins.

8. When cooled, wrap each muffin with plastic wrap and store on the kitchen counter for several days. These muffins freeze great too! Wrap each in plastic wrap and store in a plastic bag in the freezer.

Makes 16 muffins

Healthy Benefits
Pumpkin is a great source of beta-carotene. It also contains a hefty amount of fiber and a good amount of vitamin C and iron.

Wheat bran is a good source of fiber, phosphorus, calcium and carbohydrates.

Rolled oats are very good for you. There is 25 years of clinical proof to show the soluble fiber in rolled oats can help lower cholesterol, which has wonderful benefits for the heart.

Egg-Land Best eggs are better for you than regular eggs. They contain more vitamin E, 100 mg of Omega 3 and 25% less saturated fat than regular eggs. You’ll find them in most supermarkets.

Shopping Tip

If you’re looking for a terrific, reasonably priced muffin tin, Amazon.com sells one made by Faberware for $14.99. To view it click on this link

Wheat bran can be found in most supermarkets and health food stores. It’s usually displayed in the health food aisle or cereal aisle.You might have to ask your grocery for help. Amazon.com sells it too. To view click on this link.

Cooking spray with flour is a great find for baking. It’s really a necessary when making these muffins. Once baked, they tend to stick to the pan. This spray makes removing the muffins easy. They’re are several brands that add flour and can be found in the aisle where cooking oils are sold. I like this type of cooking spray whenever I’m baking a cake or muffins.

Weight Watchers (old points) 4
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 6

This entry was posted Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 10:35 am and is filed under Recent, Recipes. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.