Here's one healthy diet recipe which I've posted before which uses oat bran as well as All-Bran and applesauce. This is part of a Glycemic Index weight-loss diet. They're in the green light - go ahead zone of Rick Gallops' glycemic index list of breakfast or snack foods for those who are trying to keep their sugar and insulin levels down. I made these for many months last year and ate them in place of bread, and will be making them again in the next days. They're delicious! I also freeze them, 3 to a small ziplok bag and take them out of the freezer the night before I need, leaving them in the fridge to defost until the morning.

Light & diet friendly

Ingredients:

3/4 cup All-Bran cereal
1 cup skim milk
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
Sweetener - equivalent to 1/3 cup sugar
2 teasp baking powder
1/2 teasp baking soda
1/4 teasp salt
1 teasp allspice
1/2 teasp cloves
1 1/2 cups

2/3 cup raisins
1 large apple peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 low-cholesterol (omega-3) egg, lightly beaten
2 teasp vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1. Mix the All-Bran and skim milk in a bowl and let stand for a few minutes.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir in the oat bran, raisins and apple.

3. In a small bowl, combine the egg, vegetable oil and applesauce. Stir, along with the All-Bran mixture, into the dry ingredients.

4. Spoon the mixture into an oil-sprayed 12-muffin tray. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Source: The Glycemic Index Diet
Rick Gallop ©2002
Random House Canada

My Notes:

You may have to find the oat bran in a diet or health food store
I used fructose for the sweetener but for anyone on a strict no-sugar diet use the artificial sweetener of your choice. Otherwise non-dieters use granulated white sugar.
The mixture is thick and dry-ish. Keep stirring until all is well mixed and don't think you made a mistake in the amount of milk.

SharonCb

Thanks; I'll give these a try.

Anyone have something that DOESN'T use packaged cereal? Or a method for converting cereal-based recipes to all-from-scratch? I already have a big bag of oat bran: I was so sure I'd find a recipe when I bought it. I thought if I try something I like, I would make up my own mix by putting all the dry ingedients together in a canister, and then it would be easy for "spontaneous" morning muffins.

BREAKFAST MUFFINS (makes 12 or less if you make them bigger)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or put paper liner into 12 muffin tims.

Combine in a large bowl:
1 1/ 4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/ 2 cups oat bran
2 Tbs. wheat germ
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/ 2 tsp. ground ginger
1/ 4 tsp ground allspice

Combine in medium bowl:
1 egg
1/ 3 cup buttermilk
1/ 3 cup honey
1 medium carrot, grated on fine hole of grater
1 medium apple, grated
2 tsp. grated orange peel

Combine in small bowl:
1/ 3 cup raisins
1/ 3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Stir liquid ingredients into dry flour mixture. Stir just until blended. Fold in raisin-nut mixture. Divide the batter among muffin cups. Bake on center oven rack about 15 minutes or until cake tester inserted in centers of muffins comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Source: my auntÂs recipe files

Sorry...mine says oat bran cereal....because to me those boxes of oat bran are cereal!
Just use the oat bran in that recipe....
Linda C

I make Lindac's recipe, too, and often add a mashed banana or two, or applesauce. Doesn't mess with the texture and makes them a little moister. I usually add chopped walnuts, too.

I haven't made these in a long time... Used to make them when my kids were young... I notice they have 1 c of Crisco.. but, it makes a lot of muffins. And, they are so good.

BRAN MUFFINS
2 C. boiling water
2 C. Nabisco 100% bran
1 C. Crisco (heaping)
3 C. sugar
4 eggs - beaten
1 quart buttermilk
5 C. flour
5 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
4 C. Kelloggs All Bran (this is different from the bran listed above)
Soak Nabisco 100% bran in the 2 C. boiling water. Cream shortening and sugar. Add beaten eggs, buttermilk and soaked bran.
Sift flour, salt and soda.
Stir ingredients into wet mixture. Add Kelloggs All Bran.
Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Makes 1 gallon. You can store the batter for 4 -6 weeks in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Or, I would make 6 dozen muffins. I would make all six dozen and freeze 6 together. I would usually take them out of the freezer the night before I wanted to use them.