A new recipe

A friend recently sent a link to a new (for me) bran muffin recipe from Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

I think it is perhaps the best bran muffin recipe I've ever made. And I admit that I was very skeptical, as it has some ... uncommon ... muffin ingredients, like All-Bran cereal and cottage cheese. As always when I've decided I like a new recipe, I added it into My Recipes in My Fitness Pal, and -- shock and surprise! -- the muffins are only 71 calories per serving, with 2 grams of protein. Well, I'll be darned!

On my first go with a recipe, I usually follow it exactly. However, this recipe called for walnuts, which I didn't have in my cabinet, and I don't particularly like anyway, so I used pecans instead. I also used dates for the fruit instead of the raisins. Both are listed in the recipe as an option. Those two differences to the original are reflected in the calorie content from My Fitness Pal. Also, I used a Pampered Chef small scoop to fill the muffin cups, which gave me a serving size of 30 muffins. I probably could/should have weighed them, but the batteries in my kitchen scale need to be replaced.

(Yeah, I'm never going to make it as a food photographer.)

My daughter has requested that I leave out the dates next time. She's not fond of raisins either, so that doesn't surprise me, and I don't think it will detract from the flavor at all. Other than the dates, she loved them. I think I will try a batch with dried cherries or cranberries as well.

I've actually cut most wheat and processed foods from my diet, but I do enjoy some sort of baked treat every now and then. These have made the cut and are worth it to me.

Happy baking!