Healthy Basic Oatmeal Muffins

These easy oatmeal muffins are so versatile it's ridiculous. Your kids love them with bananas and also with blueberries, and we've tossed in spices such as nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. They are based on a recipe from allrecipes.com, and loaded with healthy components such as oatmeal, vegetable oil instead of butter, and less sugar than many muffins. You can switch the all-purpose flour to whole wheat, or a mixture, including cornmeal, wheat germ, and white flour to make your own favorite blend. Some people sub applesauce for the oil. Try almond, soy, chocolate or buttermilk for the regular milk. Your kids may surprise you with their muffin-making skills. Here's the blueprint for one dozen:

50-60 min

12 muffins

Breakfast

Ingredients

1 cup low-fat milk or almond, soy or buttermilk
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 egg
1 mashed banana or 1 cup of blueberries, cranberries, or grated apple
1/2 cup nuts, if desired, or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or lemon or orange extract, etc.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon or your choice of spices (i.e., 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or ground cloves)
1 cup all-purpose flour (or experiment with other flours!)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine milk and quick-cooking oats and let sit for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with paper liners.
In a separate large bowl, beat together egg and oil. Stir in oatmeal mixture.
In a third bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until completely moistened. Add fruit and nuts if desired. Spoon into muffin cups and fill about 2/3 full.
Bake for 18-22 minutes. Test with toothpick – it should come out clean.

More Information

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