More Banana Flavor, Less Oil Make Muffins Tasty And Good For You

Few foods are as satisfying as a big, hunky muffin. Unfortunately, not all muffins are as nutritious as they seem.

Some - even those touted as healthful - are high in fat and calories. For example, a Sara Lee raisin bran muffin has 220 calories and 7 grams of fat.

This recipe for Banana Bran Muffins makes muffins that taste wonderful and are good for you, too.

They’re made with a minimum of oil and a maximum of bananas to achieve a rich flavor and a moist, satisfying texture. Plus, they’re loaded with wheat bran cereal for extra fiber and raisins for extra carbohydrates.

Yet, each muffin has only 169 calories and just 3.5 grams of fat - about half the fat you would get from a store-bought muffin. Only 17 percent of the calories in these muffins comes from fat.

These muffins are easy to make because you don’t need to dirty a lot of appliances and dishes - just two bowls and a measuring cup. If you are pressed for time, mix the liquid ingredients in advance and stir in the flour and leavening when you have time to bake.

Banana Bran Muffins will not only stay fresh for several days, the flavor will continue to intensify. For longer storage, wrap the muffins individually in plastic and store them in the refrigerator.

For the best flavor, use overripe or bruised bananas. You can buy overripe bananas, peel the fruit, puree the pulp in a food processor or blender and freeze it for several months. You can also freeze whole, peeled bananas.

Banana Bran Muffins

2 cups 100 percent wheat bran cereal

2 cups pureed bananas (about 4 medium bananas)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 whole egg

2 egg whites

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup raisins

1 cup 1 percent fat buttermilk

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper baking cups or lightly coat the tins with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the wheat bran and the pureed bananas and allow to stand until the mixture is mushy. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, whole egg, egg whites, oil and raisins. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.

Stir the flour mixture into the banana and bran mixture, alternately with the buttermilk. Stir just enough to mix ingredients but do not overbeat.

Fill each muffin tin with the batter. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until brown and firm on top. Cool completely and wrap individually in plastic wrap or store in an airtight tin.

Yield: 20 muffins.

Nutrition information per muffin: 169 calories, 4 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrate, 3.5 grams fat (17 percent fat calories), 11 milligrams cholesterol, 187 milligrams sodium.

Note: If using two 12-muffin pans, the two empty tins in each pan can be filled with water to prevent the pan from overheating during baking.

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