Bran Flax Muffins

Muffins aren't very photogenic, bran muffins even less so, hence no photo accompanying this post. Despite the fact that they are ugly, I love them- for breakfast, as a snack, a pre-dinner appetizer (don't judge). Plus, these particular muffins have no added fat; a fact that I didn't even occur to me until after I had put them in the oven to bake. Actually, I panicked for a second when I realized that I hadn't added any oil or anything to the batter and went back to the recipe to check if I had missed something. The recipe had initially intrigued me because it calls for shredded carrot and apple, and it seems that these two additions keep the muffins moist (ugh that word again) without having to add any additional fat. I want to call these muffins low-fat, however flax is pretty high in fat but it's good fat- flax has omega-3's.

I was still a bit sceptical even after they came out of the oven, as I don't have a lot of luck with low fat recipes being very good, to be honest, but these muffins are fantastic. I will never make another bran muffin recipe again. The deal was sealed when Tyler snuck a muffin off the cooling rack (I don't know what he thought they were, but I guarantee he didn't know he was about to eat a bran muffin) and declared them "pretty good". Trust me, that's saying a lot.

BRAN FLAX MUFFINS

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods

Makes 15 muffins

*Flaxseed meal can be found in the health/organic section of the grocery store

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 3/4 wheat bran
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (about 2 average sized carrots)
• 2 medium apples, peeled and shredded
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with oven rack in the middle of oven. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add shredded carrots and apples, raisins, and nuts. Toss to coat with flour. In a smaller bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add milk and vanilla to eggs, stir to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry, stir until just moistened- do not overmix!

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 15-20 minutes. Cool on rack.