Blueberry Bran Muffins

A little healthy snack for those of you watching your calories at the start of the new year. Don’t we all have those 5 (cough!) – ok, 15 “Christmas cookie pounds” to lose? I certainly do. All my baking caught up with me this year. I modified this recipe so each muffin has a mere 100 calories – a perfect afternoon snack! And a terrific source of fiber. Did you know that women should be eating 25 grams of fiber daily? Men should be taking in 38 grams! Maybe let your guy have two of these muffins to help him along. They are moist and delicious – you wouldn’t even know how healthy they are if I didn’t tell you so.

You can use buttermilk in place of the milk/lemon juice in this recipe, however (unless you use non-fat) it will up the calories and fat content.

1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 T lemon juice + enough milk to equal 1 cup
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
Mix together milk and lemon juice and allow to set until thickened. Add wheat bran; let stand for 10 minutes.
Beat together applesauce, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to milk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into milk mixture, until just blended. Fold in blueberries and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!