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.

A Tasty Low Carb Fusion Wrap

I'm always looking to come up with low carb, tasty wraps. This one is a fusion of flavors, Indian, German and Vietnamese. You can alter the basic ingredients to include other fillings.

1 I start with a Low Carb wrap. I like Josephs because it's soft and only has 8 gms CHO per serving.
2. Spread the wrap with an Indian or Caribbean style chutney of your choosing. I used Papaya Chutney

3. Add a grilled Bratwurst, cut into pieces, and a cheese of your liking (I used low fat Mozzarella skim but any cheese may be used e.gPeccorino.

4. Top with a pickle of your choice (Sauerkraut if you like). I used a Red Cabbage and Beetroot pickle that I make Vietnamese style (recipe on this site).

5. Wrap tightly and enjoy!

Figgy Pudding Baked Oatmeal

As you can see from my website, I am pretty crazy about baked oatmeal. I try to come up with new ideas to keep this breakfast staple, fresh and interesting for me. With this recipe, I drew from my memories of Figgy Pudding, a sticky, sweet desert that I liked very much but now can only eat in tiny portions due to the high sugar content. I have tried to make this using as little sugar as possible, relying instead on the natural sweetness of the dried fruit. I have used a combination of dates and figs for their fiber content, as well as a mixture of spices for added flavor. Added sugar is only from 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup of honey. For those who might like it sweeter, those quantities of sugar and honey may be increased.  

Ingredients:

1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats, uncooked

1 cup Scottish oatmeal

1/2 cup flax meal

¼ cup dry, shredded coconut

1/4 cup brown sugar (or equivalent in Panela or Jaggery pieces)

¼ cup honey

6 ozs dried Medjool dates, chopped

9 ozs dried mission figs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 ½  teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons allspice

1 ½  teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large eggs

2 1/3 cups milk

1 1/2 cups half and half

2 teaspoons pure orange extract

Directions

1.      In a large bowl, combine the oats, spices, oatmeal, chopped nuts, flax meal, baking powder, and salt. 

2.      Mix the honey, brown sugar, chopped dates and figs, walnuts, coconut, and orange extract, with the milk and half and half. Slowly bring to below boiling, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning. The milk will thicken and curdle slightly. Remove from heat, and allow to cool to lukewarm temperature.  

3.      Heavily grease a 8x8x2 inch baking tin or Pyrex dish (If I’m using Pyrex, I put about 1-2 tablespoons of butter in the dish, microwave to melt, then swirl around to coat the bottom and sides just like you would do when making a bread pudding).  

4.      Whisk the eggs, and add the lukewarm milk mixture to this.

5.      Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix well. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to distribute the solids evenly. Refrigerate for a few hours (6 hours at least) or overnight for the dry ingredients to absorb the wet mixture. 

6.      Bake in a water bath for 1 hour to 1 hour and twenty minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until the center is set, firm to the touch, has a golden color, and a cake tester inserted comes out relatively clean (I use a food thermometer to make sure that the center temperature is 164 degrees Fahrenheit or just above). Invert from baking dish and cut into 12 squares.