Breakfast Flax Muffins



I found this recipe over at Simply Healthful. This blog always has some really great healthy tips for cooking & for kids lunches. Since I am a part-time health food nut I like it a lot. Something I learned from this recipe is that ground flaxseed can be substituted for cooking oil and shortening with a ratio of 3 to 1 in baked goods (1-1/2 cups ground flaxseed can replace 1/2 cup butter, oil, or margarine). I'd never heard this before. (I buy flax seeds in bulk & grind them in a cheap little coffee grinder, that I use solely for flax seeds. They are SO good for you! I also put them in smoothies & into breading mixtures for chicken) Notice, though that these muffins don't have any kind of fat in them & they were very moist. My kids loved them. My husband did not, however.

1-1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
¾ cup organic Flax Meal
¾ cup Oat Bran or Oat Meal (I used wheat bran)
1 cup Honey
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Real Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1-1/2 cups Carrots, finely shredded
2 unpeeled, shredded Apples
½ cup Raisins (optional, I used craisins)
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
¾ cup Milk
2 beaten Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Mix all of your dry ingredients together starting with the whole wheat flour and ending with the cinnamon. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a Vita Mix and blend thoroughly. Pour wet ingredients into the dry mixture and fold gently. DO NOT OVER MIX. Mix until ingredients are just moist. Fill muffin cups mostly full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Makes about 12-15 muffins.

Comments

kidsmom said…
I am going to try this. I don't know if you know this but you can also replace butter and oil with beans. For this recipe I would do either great northern or pinto. Just blend canned beans with liquid in food processor until thoroughly pureed then add to anything where oil is an ingredient. I put it in a cake and no one knew. You cannot taste it and the cake stayed moist just like normal.
kidsmom said…
For brownies it is recommended to use only half beans and half oil if you want chewy brownies (black beans work great for this). For more cake like brownies use the whole substitution.
Marleen said…
Thanks for linking us! I'm so glad you and the kids enjoyed the muffins. My husband isn't the biggest fan either. He has a major sweet tooth disorder that he doesn't know how to turn off. :)I love the bean idea. I'll have to try that the next time. Thanks again to both.