Fantastic Raisin Bran Apple Muffins

Have you ever lost your mind and bought a commercially prepared high fiber bran muffin? I have - and I'm always sorry. They're usually way too sweet and have a greasy or oily aftertaste. And with so many chemical stabilizers and such, I think a lot of the "healthy" benefits disappear.

When I was on my retirement vacation up north Minnesota, friend Nita made some fabulous muffins made from Raisin Bran cereal - they were so delicious, not too sweet, no aftertaste, and made us feel good and virtuous eating them.

This is my version of Nita's muffins - there are a few differences, but you end up with delicious and similar results.

Raisin Bran Apple Muffins
Makes 12 regular sized muffins

Ingredients:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1 carrot, grated
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups Raisin Bran cereal
Optional:
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup Craisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions:

1. Prepare muffin pans by greasing each cup or using paper muffin liners;  set aside
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. In a large bowl, beat oil and sugar together until the sugar is completely dissolved
4. Add egg, applesauce, milk, and yogurt and mix until well-combined
5. Fold in the grated carrot and diced apple
6. In a small separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix well; add this dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well
7. Fold in the Raisin Bran cereal and mix well
8. Add in any or all of the optional ingredients
9. Bake in prepared muffin tins at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes; cool in pan for 10 minutes

If you make these muffins according to the recipe above with no optional ingredients, each muffin has 288 calories, 50 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams fat, 6 grams protein, and 3 grams fiber.