healthy muffin recipes

[Jolie]

Can anyone suggest a place where I might find healthy muffine recipes for my 3 year old daughter? I have a great one, but it calls for way too much sugar. Any ideas. Thanks.

[hoagy294]

I just made these millet muffins from an older thread and they are amazing. I made the smallest recipe and got 11 muffins. Your daughter m ight find the crunch of the millet delightful or weird.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[doctor_mama]

This recipe for blueberry muffins, adapted from Jane Brody's Good Food Book, has no added sugar. I make it with whole-wheat pastry flour.

http://doctor-mama.livejournal.com/65...

[mrsleny]

I made these for the first time over the weekend. They turned out quite nice for a whole wheat vegan muffin.

http://rosemaryamey.ca/recipes/applem...

[TerriL]

I really like this recipe for oatmeal muffins from Epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

It makes 12 muffins with 1/2 cup of brown sugar, which isn't bad. My 19-month old loves these. I use this recipe as a base, with the following variations . . .

At the end, I add:

- 1 grated apple

- 1 cubed (~1/4" chunks) apple

- About 1/2 cup of chopped, unsulphured dried apricot

- Freshly ground nutmeg

This recipe comes out great in mini-loaf pans, and I would imagine in a regular loaf pan as well. By the way, if you like you can can cut down on the amount of butter without changing the muffins significantly.

[Jolie]

Thank you. Sounds great. I love making muffins. I love eating them too. I thought it wold be a good way to get the veggies into my little guy. We will see...

[brownie]

Jolie,
here's the link. scroll down to where i've posted, either as brownie, my new post-CNET handle or Fresser, my old one.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[marthadumptruck]

You could try the King Arthur Flour website for healthy muffins.

[brownie]

jolie,
I have a great recipe at home. I did post it last winter at some point, so i'll see if i can find it here. It is an adaptation of a recipe that a poster called Aaron gave me for "Branny Bran muffins." super healthy, high fiber low sugar and low fat. yet, still totally yummy!

[doctor_mama]

As already mentioned, replacing whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose and cutting sugar by 1/3 are good places to start. If you search on "healthy muffins" on this board you'll see other discussions of this topic.

[julesrules]

It all depends on what means "healthy" for you. Personally when baking muffins for my family, which includes my one-year old, I try to reduce the added refined sugar and use whole wheat pastry flour. Most muffin recipes do quite well this way. I find if I reduce the sugar by at least a third I can get a muffin that tastes good to me, but doesn't cause me to crave more and more like I do with sweets. I add vanilla and spices to almost every recipe as well - personal taste. Also I figure recipes with fruit (apple) or veg (carrot, zucchini, pumpkin) have some added value.
What is your recipe? I have one for apple muffins that my baby likes a lot.

[Jolie]

actually the recipe is for carrot, zucchini, apple muffins. I am trying to not only make muffins for my 3 year old, but I am also trying to sneak some vegetable to my 11 month old. So, yes I would love the recipe.
Thanks for the replies.
p.s. and as I write the baby is loving broccoli...

[julesrules]

Mine is 11 months old too! I will post my apple recipe from home later. It does currently call for 1 cup of brown sugar for 18 large / 24 smaller muffins, is that too much sugar for you?

In the meantime here is a recipe for Morning Glory muffins that I like, however I use half carrots, half zucchini. It also has pineapple and coconut. Is this something like what you make? I use whole wheat pastry flour, reduce the sugar to less than one cup, and substitute apple butter for the apple sauce.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Morning-...

[Jolie]

I would love your apple muffin recipe! And thanks for the Morning Glory recipe with the tips. As soon as I can manage it I will make them. My 11 month old loves to make me crazy in the kitchen. He gets into everything these days. Thanks again!
Jo

[julesrules]

Baby's Apple Muffins
The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of oil, 3/4 cup of sugar, and no apple butter. The spicing is just a combo I like this month and can of course be varied.

Preheat oven to 375

Combine and set aside:
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1/4 cup apple butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In another bowl combine:
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I use something called "soft whole wheat flour" which I believe is similar to whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 heaping tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp ea. cardamom and nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Combine wet and dry ingredients, together with
1 1/2 cups diced apple
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup dried fruit such as raisins and/or nuts (optional)

When I make this I double the recipe and make 18 large muffins, which bake for 24 minutes. If you are making smaller muffins (1 batch of 12) perhaps check them before the 20 minute mark.

[danna]

I love those Morning Glory muffins. I had to stop making them because I couldn't stay out of them. Nothing is healthy if you eat it immoderately, I fear.

[Candy]

There certainly was sugar in the pumpkin bread, it was fructose and it can pack a wallop in the glycemic index. Don't be fooled. Just because it was not refined white sugar does not mean that it was sugar free.

[Cheese Boy]

Candy, always be mindful of "sugar free" versus "no sugar added". Their claim was "no sugar added". They meant refined sugar for sure (sucrose). Diabetics have to be careful
of fructose, sucrose, sucralose, and lactose. All four of these are sources of sugar. I was concerned moreso with its caloric content. More sugar, more calories. Less sugar ...

[Candy]

sugar is sugar is sugar. The carbon linkages may be different but it is still sugar. Keep in mind Paula Deen's Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding..."Look Y'all No Sugar Added!!!'

[Cheese Boy]

If I were an ant I wouldn't look up to Paula D.

[danna]

Yes, Candy, sugar is sugar. But LESS sugar means fewer calories. That's the point of "no sugar added".

BTW, i have a great aunt who made a sugar free dessert..she used mashmallows. She wasn't kidding. Aunt 'Cille was always very big...and sorta goofy...but she's well over 90 now, so I suppose the sugar agreed with her ;-)

[Cheese Boy]

I recently had some pumpkin bread that claimed it had "no sugar added". It was fantastic and the only source of sweetness besides the spices was grape juice (white?). The taste was really remarkable for something that had no added sugar.

[amyzan]

Have you tried cutting the sugar in half? You won't get quite as much rise, but many recipes can withstand this easily. I'll try to think of sources for other recipes, too, but nothing springs to mind immediately.