Good Mornings

There is no question about it: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We have heard this said time and again. Breakfast not only provides fuel to begin the day but it also kick starts our metabolism. By eating breakfast,we tell our bodies to start burning calories. Many scientists believe that this mechanism helps maintain a healthy weight. Yet, so many people do not have the time to eat on mornings. Others simply don't eat because they are incorrectly convinced that, by skipping meals, they will consume less calories. A complete myth. Researchers have found that breakfast skippers do in fact consume more calories throughout the day than those of us who eat breakfast.
There are some mornings when I am also crunched for time. So to get around this, I make these hearty muffins. Make them ahead of time, make two or three batches for the week, have one as desert. These muffins are packed with energy, fiber and antioxidants. A good way to begin the day.



Breakfast Muffins
Makes 1 dozen

1 cup bran cereal
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg whites
12 oz plain fat free yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup apple sauce or 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup whole oats

1. Set oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 2 muffins tins set aside.
2. Grind cereal in food processor until a fine, flour-like texture.
3. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix in ground cereal.
4. Blend together egg whites, yogurt, oil, sugar, honey, and vanilla extract.
5. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients with about 10 to 12 strokes. The batter might not appear to be fully incorporated; that's ok. You do not want to over-mix any muffin batter otherwise the muffins will turn out too chewy.
6. Sprinkle reserved 2 tbsp cake flour over blueberries and walnuts, mix to coat, then fold into batter folding gently two or three times.
7. Divide batter equally between two muffins tins.
7. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, apple sauce and oats.
8. Crumble oat mixture over muffin batter.
9. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack before serving.

Note: If blueberries are unavailable, use raisins or dried cranberries instead.