LF/LC Bran Muffins
 

Hubby went to Vegas. I am bored!

Bran muffins--dry ingredients

1 C Bobs Wheat Bran 120 cals/16 net carbs
1/4 cup golden flaxmeal (120 cals)
1/4 cup oatfiber.
1/3 cup erythritol (I make Kevin's pseudo brown sugar E)
2 scoops (2/3 c?) protein powder(200 cals) (I used vanilla)
2 tsps glucomannan powder
1 tsp ea baking powder and baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unprocessed bran fiber sprinkles (I used GG Scandinavian brand available from netrition--but All Bran or Fiber one (or none at all) would be fine
spices to taste (I used cinnamon, ginger, and pumkin pie spice)
if desired, cut up some raisins or cranberries--or could add pumpkin


Wet ingredients

1/2 cup eggbeaters (50 cals)
Caramel or any flavour Davinci's syrup (I just poured some in til it looked right--I am so bad about measuring things:blush:--probably 1/2 cup or so??)
almond milk (just til texture is right--if it looks too thick, add a little more)--classic would be buttermilk, but i did not have any--


mix and let sit a minute or so. spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or so--do NOT overcook (protein powder dries out easily). I had to throw away my first batch because I overcooked--second batch was perfect!

around 500 cals for the whole batch. My batch made 12 muffins, so 40 cals per muffin


Ouis

If I did this again, I would probably add some pumpkin or sour cream for more moistness, but believe me--these muffins are delicious! I had really missed bran muffins! and some butter and Polaner sugar free fiber apricot jam were soooo good on top!

Mmmm, I miss them too - will try this ASAP! Just ordered some glucomannan (ALL your fault! :D ) and I think this will be the first thing I try.

Just put a batch of your newest iteration of the English muffins in the oven!

To Ouis's DH - please stay gone for a week or two. We love it when Ouis experiments! :laugh:

by the way--for you folks who do not have glu powder--Wanda (Maru) has been using xanthan gum, and she thinks it accomplishes the same thing. I like to add both when I can, tho I forgot to do so with this recipe.

oh, do this with DaVinci or Torani Pumpkin Pie sf syrup! yum. Cash and Carry may still have this; I do think it's seasonal. Do you get your syrups there?

I bet guar gum would also work, though you usually need a bit more of it.



Ouis, since you are into calorie reduction baking, would you consider my rather bizarre fake raisins? I really like them. I chop daikon, though I imagine regular radishes would work ok too.

boil in a erythritol solution with some citric acid to sour it till it's all evaporated/absorbed, dripping in a bit of Black Currant flavoring towards the end. Let them dry.

I think a variety of sweet/flavor/sour things could be used. If you don't have citric acid, I suggest unsweetened lemon koolaid powder, which is mostly citric acid. not sure if DaVinci syrup would do as well as the erythritol, but it might.

They are about the texture of raisins, but you can see the recrystalized erythritol on the surface. don't cook them till they are so dehydrated they will be hard--that is possible. store in a little container in the refrigerator.

I also made "candied pineapple" and "dried apricot bits" for winter baking this way. The pineapple was more successful, but they were both fine.

My experiments with candied citrus peels didn't go so well-I cooked them too long and they got hard and powdery, but I'm sure it could be done successfully.

Oh man RR--I can't tell you how much I have missed raisins-- where did you find black currant flavoring? For awhile, I had some monin bc syrup--is that the stuff? To have bran muffins with "raisins"??? There would never again be a reason to cheat!! I'm on it!

Speaking of Cash & Carry, got their new ad - DaVinci's on sale through 3/5.

Sometimes I cut the raisins in half when I need a raisin or two. They are carby, but 4 half pieces of raisin per muffin is not that bad and makes a nice
addition.

Raisins
 

Just checked and there are about 21 grams carb in one ounce.
Divide that into 12 muffins so it couldn't hurt. Halving them is
a great idea Carolyn.

I am going to follow Ravenrose's suggestion and use Daikon diced up as a raisin sub---but today I made an apple flavoured muffin using Alpine cider (sf) powder and it was great--I added some diced daikon to the batter, and it was indistinguishable from apples

Apples would also be great in the bran muffins! Thanks RR!

I envy you guys who are able to handle that much fiber. That is what I do too, Carolyn; cut the raisins in half.

Ravenrose - very clever! Does the crystallized erythritol on the "raisins" pose a problem in remaining that way in the baking or does it dissolve?

I think the Daikon radish I bought was, in fact, a parsnip. :rofl:

It tastes like a carrot. I think it was in the wrong bin. I looked it up on line and I think it is a parsnip.

You could also use diced chayote.

I plan to make some homemade dehydrated cranberries pretty soon - I'm gonna try THOSE!

Dehydrated blueberries would probably be good too.

they aren't crunchy or anything, if that's what you mean... I can just see them sparkle in their little glass dish.

I have to say, they aren't convincing raisins. for those of you who are particular about exactly recreating high carb flavors, you would probably not be happy. but it's not too hard to give it a try! if you think of it as interesting little bits in the muffins it's better than thinking of them as woeful raisin subs! LOL

I should have said that to start with, but I was thinking of ouis who seems more tolerant of things to get them really low calorie/carb than some.

drjlocarb, these have a distinct radish edge to them, some stronger than others. and not rooty and pointed like carrots. I'm sure you are right. parsnips are much denser and sweeter. I adore them, but a bit too carby for me. I have several beautiful ones, and I make some for my mother every Saturday to go with lunch. she eats like a bird, so they will last a long time! LOL

Another raisin idea: Plump them up first in warm water, then cut them..They will seem huge..LOL.

you know, doing they cranberries in something like raspberry or black cherry sugar free syrup wouldn't be a bad idea either. they are SO sour. I actually like that, but I have to put them chopped up in a really sweet orange muffin to balance it.

great recipe ideas ladies! do u know if u can use frozen cranberries for drying?

These sounds AMAZING!! Love the calorie count but can you tell me the carb count on one of these?

Thanks........:hugs:

ohhhhh Beeb--I am terrible at that, I am so sorry! I don't have a recipe builder--I think between the bran and the flaxmeal and the baking powder, there might be 20 carbs or so in the recipe? Does that sound right? And I got 12 muffins from the whole thing, so maybe 2-3 carbs per muffin. darn. I'm not sure. I'm such a fly-by-the-seat of my pants cook!

How much xanthan gum do you think? I plan to get some glucomannan, but don't have any now and really want to try these muffins.

made these tonight! Pretty good, tyring to figure out calorie and carb counts with my tweaks... anyone know how many calories in 1/4 cup flax... or 1/4 cup oat fiber??

Never mind! Found it!

I get 45calories per muffin
and 1.8 carbs (2)

all I did was cut back on some of the protein powder ( all i had left was 1/2 cup!)
and add 1/2 T cream and 1/5 cup water instead of almond milk.

Only I forgot to put in the b.powder, and baking soda! - My printer is on the fritz and I hand copied wrong! -oops!-

Still good- just not very muffin like!