I’m one of those people who ended up with a stack of healthy cookbooks and ‘eat well, live well’ kinds of inspirational books. I’ve often thought – oh, this is a good idea, I should change how I eat and I’ll lose weight. Sigh… those ideas never stuck. But, here I am, having lost 12 lbs in 2 rounds of the Beachbody 21 Day Fix #21dayfix and committed to do more once I get some stitches out, and because Jay needs to bring down his cholesterol and lose weight too.
I found this recipe in Tosca Reno’s The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, one of the many books in my pile… it turns out Tosca also has a good website and a blog where you can find more recipes, tips, tricks, and inspiration for eating healthier and exercising. I encourage you to check it out: www.toscareno.com
With the applesauce, these muffins are moist and satisfying. They’re easy to make too. You can also switch up the dried fruit to whatever you’d like. I didn’t include raisins the first time – I used 1/2 cup of a dried berry blend (cherries, blueberries, strawberries) and 1/4 cup dried cranberries. Oddly, I found the berry blend and a variety of other neat dried fruits at London Drugs. My only note about dried fruit is the additional sugar that’s added. Perhaps other brands are sugar free – it’s worth looking into (I’m new to this world of ‘healthy’ so you likely know more than me… please comment!).
Ingredients
1 cup dry old-fashioned oats (not instant and not steel-cut)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup skim milk, soy milk, rice milk or almond milk (I used almond milk)
2 egg whites, beaten (I just beat them by hand with a fork until they were nice and fluffy and it was fine)
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed (I have whole seeds so I ground them in my Nutribullet)
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp canola oil
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup raisins
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare 12 muffin tins with liners or spray with cooking spray.
Combine oatmeal, applesauce, milk, eggs, flax and oil in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, combine dry ingredients, including fruit. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredient and pour wet ingredients into it. Stir until all ingredients are just combined.
Using a spoon, fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 15-20 mins. Cool on a wire rack. Once cool, store in an airtight container or individually wrap in plastic wrap then place in a freezer bag or container for easy lunchbox snacks during the week.
Nutritional:
Makes 12 muffins. 120 Calories, 3g Protein, 20g Carbs, 3g Fibre, 3g Sugar, 3g Fat, 17mg Sodium (dependant on the fruit and milk you choose)
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