Bran muffins for healthy motions

Oat bran for healthy motions   Bran, the husk of grains, does not promise a tasty dish. Already the name sounds slightly off-putting, at least to my ears. I recall the first time I made contact with this stuff. It was in the late seventies, when research about nutrition was far less advanced than today. In these days, women magazines praised bran as the ultimate source for fibre and – as a natural consequence – a flat stomach. I bought a packet of wheat bran and – blissful ignorance – tried to make muesli with it. I still can feel the taste of cardboard spreading in my mouth. Although I had soaked the bran with plenty of milk, it seemed to absorb every bit of humidity after it had passed my lips. One of my friends used to sprinkle the stuff over fruit salad, but I did not like this any better. It took me years to try my hand in using bran again. Actually, during holidays in the USA I had noticed that bran muffins are sold everywhere. However, they are so sweet I don’t consider them healthy. When you look at the ingredients, you see that sugar and white flour is mixed with a bit of bran to justify the name. Some years ago, I discovered oat bran at my local supermarket. I bought a packet and decided to develop my own kind of bran muffins – with a lot of bran. The following recipe is from my upcoming book about cooking for allergic persons. It does not include allergens like raisins, nuts or chocolate chips and is dairy free. These oat bran muffins may not incorporate the peak of culinary accomplishment. But thanks to their really serious amount of fibre they take care of your intestines like few other foods – healthy motions guaranteed. Plain as they are, these muffins make a great start in the morning. I personally love the flavour of cinnamon and clove which infuses these muffins. Eat them with a bit of butter and some marmalade and they can make you happy.   Dairy free Bran Muffins Ingredients (for 12 muffins):    2 ½ cups oat bran   1 ½ cup whole wheat flour   1 cup ghee or coconut oil   2 eggs   1 ½ cups coconut milk   1 cup sugar   1 tablespoon vanilla essence   1 tablespoon cinnamon   1 teaspoon ground clove   2 tablespoons baking powder Method: Grease your muffin moulds and line them with paper. I use silicone muffin moulds from an Italian company, which don’t need greasing and are very convenient. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Break the egg into a mixing bowl and add sugar, the cinnamon, the cloves and/or the cardamom. Stir well together. Add the coconut milk (also normal milk will do if you can eat dairy). Stir again. Add the oat bran and mix. Let it sit for ten minutes. Even overnight would not hurt, if you want to make your muffins fresh in the morning and don’t feel like slaving away early. The oat bran will start to absorb most of the liquid. If the dough turns very thick, add ¼ cup more liquid. Mix the flour with the baking powder and stir into the dough. Fill the muffin moulds immediately and bake them in the oven for around 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Let them rest for ten minutes at least before removing them from the moulds. http://www.mediterraneancooking.in/nutritional-values/ingred-fiber More recipes at Kornelia's Kitchen Sign up for my monthly newsletter