Healthy Muffin Recipes

Seems like the 1st of the year, it is always time to cut back and scale down on all of the holiday extravagances. All of these muffin recipes are so good, that you will hardly feel like you are missing a thing.


Wholesome Oat Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

These healthy muffins are so delicious you’ll want to enjoy them for breakfast every day. Make a double batch and freeze half for later. Adding 1/2 a Cup of Dried Apricots and Lemon Zest take these to a whole other level!


Ingredients
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons oats
1 cup buttermilk (May use 1 Cup Skim Milk combined w/ 1 TBS Lemon Juice or Vinegar as a substitute)
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole grain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup brown sugar substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla


Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

In a small bowl, combine 3⁄4 cup of the oats and the buttermilk. Let soak for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and walnuts.

In a large bowl, stir together the oil, egg, brown sugar substitute, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the oat mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons oats over the muffins. Bake for 11 to 15 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes.

Remove to the rack to cool completely.


Recipe from The South Beach Diet Cookbook.

Nutritional Information:
180 calories
11 total fat (1 g sat, 10 g mono)
20 mg cholesterol
21 g carbohydrate
4 g protein
3 g fiber
191 mg sodium

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The goodness of blueberries combined with healthy fiber, fragrant with a hint of orange peel and cinnamon. Even better, cinnamon is one of those ingredients that help to control blood sugar! Try these scrumptious muffins for breakfast for a healthy snack. No one will guess they're good for you.

~Recipe originally shared by crookedhalogrl on the iVillage South Beach Diet Board
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-fbsouthbeach/?msg=4505.1

Blueberry Bran Muffins (Phase 2 and 3 of the South Beach Diet)
These are excellent! You will want to double this recipe!

2 cups fresh blueberries
1-1/2 cups All-Bran cereal with “extra fiber” (has 0 sugar)
1-1/2 cups plain soy milk –or- skim milk
1 large egg
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup Splenda
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest (colored peel)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cups chopped pecans

Wash the blueberries and remove the stems. Lay the berries on a paper towel to dry.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease your muffin tins or line them with paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the All-Bran and the milk; soak this mixture for about 15 minutes. Stir in egg, oil, Splenda, orange zest, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nuts.

Add the dry ingredients to the cereal mixture. Gently stir, just until blended. Do not over-stir! Too much stirring destroys the light texture of muffins. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Spoon the batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake the muffins for 25 minutes, until the cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Makes 18 muffins.

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Basic Muffin w/ Unlimited Potential
(South Beach Diet Friendly)
Phase 2&3

Makes: 1 dozen


• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• ½ Cup Granulated Splenda
• 2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Cup (8 ounces) Vanilla Low-Fat Yogurt or Soy Yogurt
• ¼ Cup Low-Fat Milk, Rice Milk or Soymilk
• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl and stir together.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the remaining ingredients. Stir together until well blended, but don’t over beat. The batter should be medium-thick. If it seems too stiff or dry, add a small amount of additional milk.

Stir in the additional ingredient or ingredients of your choice (see below), then divide the batter among 12 oiled or foil-lined muffin tins.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let cool until just warm to touch, then transfer muffins to a plate. I would store these in the refrigerator so they don’t get moldy from the moist fruit.


Muffin Variations:

1.Cinnamon Walnut Muffins: Add 1 cup finely chopped nuts, plus ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.

2.Blueberry Muffins: Add 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, plus ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.

3.Strawberry Muffins: Add 1 cup of very sweet chopped fresh strawberries, or the equivalent of drained, frozen strawberries. *May add slivered almonds and almond extract.

4.Apple Muffins: Add 1 cup of finely chopped apple, and if you like ¼ cup of chopped nuts and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

5.Chocolate Chip Muffins: Add ¾ cup of semisweet chocolate chips or mini chips, plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

6.Cheddar Muffins: Use plain yogurt instead of vanilla yogurt and only 2 Tablespoons of granulated Splenda. Add 2/3 cups of cheddar cheese.

7. Banana Muffins: Add 1 cup of chopped banana. Or….Combine ½ cup chopped banana with ½ cup of semisweet chocolate mini-chips.

8. Orange Cranberry Muffins: Add 1 cup of cranberries and 1 TBS of Orange Zest.

Once combined the basic batter can be divided into 3 giving you the option of diversifying the add ins and 3 completely different muffins to choose from.

Enjoy!