This is an amazing recipe. From the first time I went to make it, I didn't have all the right ingredients and found I could just about substitute anything, so long as I kept the dry-to-wet ratio the same. However, I have made one improvement, in my opinion, after having made this recipe at least a dozen times now: mix (or sift) all the dry ingredients in one bowl, all the wet ingredients into another (including the raisins and nuts) and then add the liguid to the dry. It requires less stiring this way, mixes more thoroughly and produces a more consistent result.
I was also able to reduce the cholesterol and calories with a few minor changes without changing the flavor or texture.
I used Enova in place of the vegetable oil, cholesterol free eggs (in the carton) and fat-free powdered milk (mixed according to the directions). No one could tell the difference.
I also found it's possible to substitute squash for the carrots or applesauce (1-3/4 cups) for the apples and even to leave out the nuts entirely and increase the raisins to 2 cups (my husband doesn't like nuts).
When using applesauce in place of apples, increase the cooking time by 5 minutes.
The poster of this recipe deserves my hearty thanks!
These are a great and very healthy muffin. I made some adjustments:
No oil- not neccesary. This recipe is from the back of a bag of flaxseed and they omit the oil in it.
I used 1.5 cups of shredded carrots
Used wheat bran instead of oat bran- didn't have any on hand
Most important: I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose- does not make a huge difference, perhaps a tiny bit more dense.
I made 12 medium sized muffins and put the rest of the batter into a round cake pan and frosted it with some leftover cheesecake frosting for a sweet treat-- tastes like carrot cake and delicious!!
Love! Love! this recipe!
Besides the fact that they are super yummy and convenient (keep them in the freezer then pop them in the toaster oven in the morning for about 10 minutes for healthy hot breakfast muffins) the recipe is pretty flexible and hard to mess up so you can have fun with it.
A few suggestions if I may: add shredded zuccini for a little more vitamin oompf, use applesauce and more carrot (or zuccini) if you don't have fresh apples, and throw in some fresh blueberries!! I use whole wheat all purpose flour.
Remember that it's always better to get whole flax seeds and grind them in your coffee grinder (store unground flax in cool dry place). Flax looses its oh-so-darn-healthyness really quickly. But if you do buy ground store, sealed, in the fridge.
OMG! These are the most delicious bran muffins I've ever had or made. Super-moist and sweet and good for you too! Here's how I tweaked the recipe based on others' suggestions: 3/4 c. spelt flour 3/4 c. whole wheat flour 3/4 cup ground flax seed 3/4 cup oat bran 2 T. Miller's bran 3/4 c. Splenda 1/2 c. dark molasses 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 c. buttermilk 2 eggs beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 cups shredded carrots (preshredded bagged) 1 1/2 c. organic applesauce 1/2 cup raisins 3/4 c. chopped walnuts 1/4 c. sliced almonds I baked them in Texas muffin cup papers so they ended up being quite large. I baked them at 350 for 25 minutes. Serve with a tall cold glass of cow juice!
Thank goodness! I've finally found something that Flax Seed tastes good in! We bought a 92oz (huge) jug of Flax seed that was being sold at a local home and garden show becase the salesman said it would help with lowering my husband's cholesterol. Once we got it home and started adding it to food as suggested my husband decided that he HATED the taste of flax and refused to eat anything else I tried to "poison" with the stuff. He even threatened to bury it in the backyard. Then I found these muffins...which have been a real life-saver. We may get the rest of our flax seed eaten yet! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Compared to everything else we've tried....they are truly excellent.:)(Eventhough my picky hubby also made me leave out the raisins and the nuts!) They are super moist and great for breakfast on the go.
These muffins are amazing!! They really are a whole meal in one! They are also indestructible. I tried some major experimentation with them as I was lacking in some ingredients and still got an incredible result. I used whole-wheat flour and substituted buckwheat flour for the oat bran. I used 1 cup of milk and only 1 tbsp of oil. I also used 1/3 cup of maple syrup instead of the sugar. I really liked the combination of the buckwheat and the flour. Thank you so much!!!
Maybe I'm just used to chopping things fast but this was so fast and easy to throw together. I made it after the dinner was in the oven and had enough time to put these in for the last 15 minutes. They turned out awesome. I cut the recipe in half and just filled the cups for normal muffins got 12 out of it (just clearing the top of the papers). Also we didn't have oat bran and substituted whole wheat flour - I worried over that but shouldn't have. We also used half ground flax seeds and half whole enjoyed the texture more. As was said this is a keeper!
These were really good and the carrots made them very pretty. I used honey instead of sugar and not at much as the recipe called for. I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour but that might have been a mistake. (Too much fiber!)
Great recipe! I've been trying to get more flax seeds into my diet. Nice tasting healthy muffin.
These muffins were (surprisingly) lacking in flavor and were way too moist to the point of being pasty. With the amount of moisture the shredded carrot and apple add this recipe could easily do away with the processed white flour for whole wheat instead which would take care of the pastiness and add flavor. Definitely increase the cinnamon to one or two tablespoons. It was barely noticeable.
