Oat Crazy: Zucchini Oat Bran Muffins

Yes, I'm on an oat bran craze...and a healthy craze. I have finally baked enough to understand what is needed in order to make a successful bake good. So my newest obsession is making recipes tasty and healthy at the same time. This recipe is similar to my oat bran muffins but I incorporated oat bran into a zucchini muffin recipe instead of a incorporating zucchini in an oat bran muffin recipe...if that makes sense. I used a calorie counter website and after calculating, each muffin is 134 calories! How did I do it? I used a minimal amount of fat (oil) and replaced most of it with applesauce which will keep the muffins moist. Also, I incorporated oat bran to give you additional nutrition like fiber. While the zucchini provides moisture and flavor to the muffins, the cinnamon makes the muffins tasty and a little addictive. I love this recipe because not only is the calorie count low, the muffins didn't taste healthy. My sister asked me what I put in the muffins to make them healthy because they didn't taste "healthy" to her. That only means one word: success!

Next time, I will modify is the amount of sugar because it is too high for a healthy muffin like this. I might also play with the baking powder proportion because I felt like the muffins could be fluffier. Also, my zucchini was not fine enough. I didn't mind because I like the chunks throughout the batter but I think I will make it finer just to compare.




Zucchini Oat Bran Muffins
compliments of me

Ingredients
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons oat bran
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons applesauce
1/2 cup nuts like walnut, pecans (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Line 12 muffin tins with liner.
3. Combine oat bran, flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
4. Combine egg, zucchini, oil, and applesauce in a mixing bowl.
5. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine until just moisten. Do not overmix batter. Scoop batter into muffin tins.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Yield: 12 muffins