How many times have you heard, “Eat more fiber” and how many times have you heard, “You need to start your day with breakfast?” Well, this apple bran muffin easily solves both dilemmas and more. First, during the week most people don’t have time to make breakfast. My solution is to prepare these yummy muffins on the weekend. They freeze great so you can take them out the night before or zap them in the microwave in the morning. Next, they’re loaded with fiber rich, nutritious ingredients. Instead of white flour, I’m using whole wheat flour, wheat bran, rolled oats, All Bran cereal and fiber filled chopped apples. Each large muffin has 299 calories and 8 grams fat.
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- 2 eggs, I like Eggland’s Best eggs
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce (1 snack pack)
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup organic sugar (evaporated beet sugar) or regular granulated sugar
- 3 cups green apples, peeled, cored and chopped (~3 large apples)
- 1¼ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup wheat bran, see shopping tip
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup All Bran cereal
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 2¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
Topping
- 1 cup rolled oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a nonstick muffin tin with cooking spray with flour in it (see shopping tip).
- In an electric mixer, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, add the egg whites, eggs, canola oil, applesauce and mix well.
- Stir in the honey and sugar and mix until combined.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and mix until blended (do not over mix).
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Fill to top of each muffin cup. Repeat until the 12 cup tin is filled with batter. Sprinkle the tops with rolled oats.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let muffins sit for 5 minutes. To remove the muffins, first carefully separate with a knife and then use a spoon to help scoop out. Coat ½ the pan again with cooking spray. Add remaining batter and repeat baking process.
Notes
Makes 16 large muffins
Cutting Calories and Fat Tip
This recipe makes very large muffins. If you want to cut the calories, fat and Weight Watchers Points, either eat only ½ per serving or make them smaller by filling the muffin cups to ¾ full. This should give you about 20 muffins. You can also leave the walnuts out to further cut the skinny facts. Healthy Benefits
Walnuts are so good for you. They’re an excellent source of omega-3’s essential fatty acids. Although they are high in fat, it’s the good monounsaturated kind. They protect the heart, support the immune system and appear to have several anticancer benefits Fats-Most regular bran muffins use at least 1 cup of oil or butter. These muffins contain only ⅓ cup of canola oil. Wheat bran is a good source of fiber, phosphorus, calcium and carbohydrates. Eggland’s Best eggs are better for you than the typical eggs. They contain more vitamin E, 100mg of Omega 3, and 25% less saturated fat than regular eggs. You can find them in most major supermarkets.
Shopping Tips
Cooking spray, with flour in it, is a great find. It really works wonders with these muffins. They can stick and become hard to remove from the tin. This spray makes removing the muffins easy. I also recommend it when baking cakes. You’ll find this cooking spray in the aisle where cooking oil is found. Wheat bran can be found in most supermarkets and health food markets such as Wholefoods. Organic sugar is sold in the health food aisle of most large supermarkets. Trader Joe’s also sells it along with most health food markets.
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 8
Cutting Calories and Fat Tip
This recipe makes very large muffins. If you want to cut the calories, fat and Weight Watchers Points, either eat only ½ per serving or make them smaller by filling the muffin cups to ¾ full. This should give you about 20 muffins. You can also leave the walnuts out to further cut the skinny facts. Healthy Benefits
Walnuts are so good for you. They’re an excellent source of omega-3’s essential fatty acids. Although they are high in fat, it’s the good monounsaturated kind. They protect the heart, support the immune system and appear to have several anticancer benefits Fats-Most regular bran muffins use at least 1 cup of oil or butter. These muffins contain only ⅓ cup of canola oil. Wheat bran is a good source of fiber, phosphorus, calcium and carbohydrates. Eggland’s Best eggs are better for you than the typical eggs. They contain more vitamin E, 100mg of Omega 3, and 25% less saturated fat than regular eggs. You can find them in most major supermarkets.
Shopping Tips
Cooking spray, with flour in it, is a great find. It really works wonders with these muffins. They can stick and become hard to remove from the tin. This spray makes removing the muffins easy. I also recommend it when baking cakes. You’ll find this cooking spray in the aisle where cooking oil is found. Wheat bran can be found in most supermarkets and health food markets such as Wholefoods. Organic sugar is sold in the health food aisle of most large supermarkets. Trader Joe’s also sells it along with most health food markets.
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 8
| SKINNY FACTS: for 1 large muffin 299 calories, 8g fat, 57g carbs, 5g protein, 5g fiber, 345mg sodium, 36g sugar |
| FAT FACTS: for 1 Honey Bran Muffin at Dunkin Donuts 433 cal, 16g fat, 72g carbs, 6g protein, 4.7g fiber, 368 mg sodium, 49g sugar |
Skinny Facts
Serving: 1muffinCalories: 299kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 5gFat: 8gSodium: 345mgFiber: 5gSugar: 36gPlus Points: 8
