Fiber Rich Oats and All Bran Breakfast Muffins

The older we get, the more we look around for fiber rich sources of food. The cereals that help the most in this regard are oats and bran. There are many muffin recipes out there that use one or the other. So, I decided to come up with one that used both. I also used dates in this recipe as they, like prunes, are fiber rich....but better tasting! Using yogurt allowed me to cut back on the amount of oil that I used.

These are Jumbo sized muffins for which I used the Jumbo sized foil muffin cups

The recipe gives 12 jumbo sized muffins, and because of their size, one muffin for breakfast is more than enough....even though you may well be tempted to eat more than one. I have used a minimal amount of sugar, relying instead on the sweetness of the dates, and whatever sugar is in the All Bran cereal.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Brown sugar or Panela Redonda

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 cup Kellogg's® All-Bran® Original cereal

1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats

¼ cup dried, unsweetened coconut

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 cup Greek style yogurt, plain

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon orange extract

1/3 cup (about 6 large Medjool dates), pitted and finely chopped

1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions

1.In large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, oats, nuts, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. Finely chop the dates and walnuts. The dates are added to the half and half mixture (as below), the nuts are added to the dry ingredients above.

3. Zest the lemon and place in a saucer. Add the juice to this along with the orange extract. Set aside.

4. In saucepan combine half and half, honey, dried coconut, chopped dates, and the brown sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Gently warm but do not boil (if you are using Panela Redonda, it doesn’t matter if a few small lumps remain. They form pockets of caramel sweetness when baked). Allow to cool to lukewarm then add this to the all-bran cereal.  Let stand about 2 minutes.

5. Lightly whisk the egg, oil and yogurt till thick and creamy. Add all the half and half mixture to this and mix. Add the lemon juice and zest to the wet ingredients, stir then add all to the dry and quickly mix. Be careful not to over mix, stirring until just combined. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes until browned on top and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on rack.