Health Nut Muffins

Well, here's something you probably thought you'd never see here. A healthy recipe! It's true, I don't often bake "health food" recipes. I like my sweets old-fashioned and unhealthy thank you very much :-)  BUT...I do like to eat healthy in general and sometimes I'll see a low-cal or healthy recipe that catches my eye.

I saw this recipe in a magazine. Wish I knew which one! I have a bad habit of cutting off that bit of information. I've been baking them for years.

I love to have breads with my coffee in the morning and I can eat these with no guilt. Although I admit I rarely feel guilty about anything I eat. Life is too short for that!

There is a bit of grating and chopping involved but I know some of you like that sort of thing. :-)  These are nice, hearty little muffins with a nice texture and flavor.  You will feel good about eating them! I bet you could substitute chopped apples if you don't have grapes, and any kind of nut that you like would taste delicious. If you don't have wheat germ, just substitute flour.

Health Nut Muffins

1-1/4 cups flour  (I like to mix white and wheat)
3/4 cups quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup wheat germ or bran
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp each cinnamon and ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup each: shredded carrots, applesauce and skim milk (or whatever kind you have)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, divided
3 TB vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Stir together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup walnuts; stir just until combined.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. The batter should exactly fill 12 muffin cups. They will be very full. Sprinkle with reserved walnuts.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Because these are healthy :-) I will provide the nutrition information that was with the recipe.  Nutrition per muffin: 190 calories, 4 g protein, 8 g total fat (1 g sat, 0 g trans), 28 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 11 g sugar, 20 mg cholesterol, 180 g sodium, 4 points.

Happy Baking!