Apple Bran Muffins - Nutrition powerhouse made eggless

You have had a healthy and simple lunch, you are happy that you ate sensibly, you put a nice blue tick near that particular meal in your "Eat Sensibly Resolution Chart" and feeling mighty pleased about it. Tick, Tock, Tick...the clock ticks away slowly the hand creeping towards 4:00 PM and something else creeps in your belly! Hey is a wild cat nearby? Is someone watching your favourite Animal Planet channel? No..No wait a minute? Is that growl coming from your stomach..yeah it is! Hunger pangs and the tongue starts playing dirty tricks - making you imagine - that Jalapeno chips wonderfully crunch, in your mouth; how about that 'tadak' sound when you bite that nutty chocolate bar, mm...and and how about that delicious looking bagel with a nice filling of cream cheese making eyes with you..........aaaaaaaah!!!!

No, No, you say, looking at your chart!. Then you think of diverting by checking your mails and you get entries for events you are hosting where your fellow foodies are Flaunting .Their . Wares . You start feeling like a dog! No not in a derogatory way..but you so resemble one, salivating this way! You are like OK, THAT's IT and try to grab that Cream cheese bagel - and that's when I say STOP! Here is another yummy alternative which wont make you feel that you are on a diet or something.



Apple Bran muffins is the way to go - They have that Jalepeno chip like crunch as soon as you bite into it and 2 seconds later, you get a nice chewy texture like that bagel and in the end you feel like you have bitten away the nutty chocolate bar to glory - except that you havent. What you did was eat into a nutrition powerhouse that is so ridiculously low in calories in return of immense benefits that its not even funny! It has a fruit, goodness of wheat and wheat bran, nuts and spices which make blend it all together. Don't go by the appearance - This is one Abraham Lincoln model - The packaging isnt pretty - but whats inside is worth all the time, effort and money :)

Ingredients


• 1 apple, grated ( pls dont peel the skin! There are nutrients in there)
  
  
• 1 cup wheat bran
  
  
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  
  
• 1/4 cup All purpose flour
  
  
• 1 cup milk
  
  
• 1/4 cup pecans ( or walnuts)
  
  
• 2 tbsp brown sugar ( this muffin is v mildly sweet, the way I like it. You can add more if you desire..)
  
  
• 1 tbsp butter
  
  
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  
  
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  
  
• 1/4 cup applesauce
  
  
• 1/4 cup oil
  
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
  
• 1 tbsp baking powder
  
  

Method

1.Preheat Oven to 375F. Mix all the wet ingredients together along with the spices.



2.In a seperate bowl, add all the dry ingredients together.



3.Now mix both of them together.



4.Drop spoonfuls of the dough into a lined muffin pan.



5.Bake them for 20-30 min until golden brown.



Cool them in a counter and enjoy!

Whole Grain Pancakes with Pecan Nuts and Grilled Bananas

The Food Pyramid esp for Vegetarians is little complicated. The need to maintain the essential balance is so crucial - instances like did you take the required amount of Dietery Fibre? what about whole grains? Did your meal the whole day today include sufficient servings of vegetables and fruits? and Oh yes! Proteins? Yes the Pyramid and its classification look simple enough - but in day to day hectic lifestyle, we tend to forget taking each and every thing into consideration and in long run we realise that we have missed out on lots of nutrition and adequate amount of balance much needed esp for Vegetarians.



So, in order to make sure of that aspect, I try to plan ahead all the meals during the week - right from breakfast, lunch, tea time to dinner; making sure to see that I have incorporated all the essential groups in the pyramid. Unless spaced out - its almost impossible to gobble down all the servings in one go - hence the process has to start right from breakfast. Hence this is one of those recipes I came up with - to start off our day on the right note.

Image taken from here

I bought a 10grain Bread Mix a while back. It has all the essential whole grains like wheat,rolled oats,Rye,Corn,triticale,millet etc).I also had Teff flour at hand and pancakes are so common in so many households - so made Pancakes out of them.I also wanted to add one fruit and some nuts- so grilled and toasted them resp for the topping. It was light, fluffy, hearty and filled with all the nature's best ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup 10 grain bread mix
  
• 1/4 cup Teff flour
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 egg
  
• pinch of salt
  
• 2 tbsp demerera sugar/ brown sugar
  
• 1 cup low fat milk
  
• 1-2 bananas, sliced vertically
  
• 2-3 tbsp maple syrup
  
• 1/4 cup lightly toasted pecans
  

Method

1.Mix the flours along with baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well and then add the eggs and milk and make a thick batter



Mix well and refriegrate for 10 min while you grill the fruit



2.Take the sliced bananas and with a brush lightly apply the maple syrup to the bananas. grill them for a min and set them aside.



3.Take the batter and drop a spoonful on a pan. cook for 2-3 min and turn.



4.Usually it gets done v fast - so make sure not to keep it for very long on the pan.



5.Serve it in a plate hot with a topping of bananas and some nuts - mm may be honey if needed.



Summary of health benefits

1) Whole grains benefits
2) Protein in eggs and milk
3) Fruit - banana brimming with potassium
4) Pecan Nuts - little goes a loong way.
5) Maple Syrup benefits

Can you think of more? I mean thats a good way to encompass lots of nutrition- dont you think :) This is my entry to Susan's Pancake Parade Event

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I have a penchant for..mm..lemme think...EVERYTHING! I am simply tooo *greedy* a person to leave out anything that one can possibly do. That being said - my journey in blog-o-sphere started for learning more about food - culture - ways of cooking ; to get inspired by all you talented ones and try to push my boundaries farther than the norm. That being such - when I am bestowed with awards , it makes me feel happy and appreciated.



Siri and LG have bestowed me with Blogging With a Purpose Award and Lg Esp has some v generous things to say about me. I am honoured Lg and thanks for thinking of me. I dont have to say anything about Siri - no not cos I have nothing to say - but cos if i start I wont stop. :) All the best dear for you-know-what dear.