Great Grains
The time between that final smack of the snooze button and loading the kids onto the bus can often be summed up in one word: chaos. Breakfast can often turn into a stressful, rushed
affair or even neglected completely on busy mornings. That’s where muffins can come into play. Not just for using up old bananas, muffins can provide a boost of energy and fiber to help your child stay satisfied until lunchtime. Plus prepping them can be a cinch if you plan ahead of time; bake up a batch or two of muffins over the weekend, wrap them tightly in foil once they’re cool, and freeze them. During the week, unwrap them, and pop a few into the microwave for 30 seconds when you’re ready for breakfast. Avoid recipes that load up on sugary coatings or chocolate; instead, opt for lower-calorie recipes (such as our featured recipe for whole grain raisin muffins) and pair with fruit for a healthful start to your day.
Ingredients-
- ½ cup boiling water
- ½ cup raisins, craisins or dried cherries
- 1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup bran cereal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup low fat or fat free milk
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 egg
Directions-
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners. In a small bowl, pour boiling water over raisins and let stand for 15 minutes.
3. Mix oats, cereal, flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. In another bowl combine the milk, honey, oil, vanilla, lemon juice, and egg. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients and raisins (along with any residual soaking water) into the well. Stir just to combine, taking care not to overmix. 4. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until muffins spring back when touched in the center.
5. Let stand 10 minutes in the pan then transfer to a rack. Serve warm or room temperature.
—Recipe courtesy of the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” Campaign. For more, check out the breakfastproject.com
