Morning Glories

Louise has requested healthy muffin recipes. Muffins are a Reems staple. We grew up on chocolate chip banana muffins for our school snack. Oatmeal or wheat germ muffins were in the Sunday morning muffin rotation. If you pop by Joan and Bill's around 8:00 on any given Sunday, morning I can guarantee that my dad will be pulling a batch of oatmeal muffins from the fridge. Smothered in homemade blackberry or plum jam they always make me nostalgic, and also manage to get me through that Sunday morning-no snack, long-sermon haul.

Louise specifically mentioned Morning Glory muffins, which have been a long favourite of mine. I really got into making these a couple of years back when Mike came home with 5 pineapples leftover from the foodbank food run he did Fridays in Calgary, all almost over-ripe. I prepped and diced pineapple for the the freezer and made Morning Glory muffins all winter long. I did need to do a recipe overhaul - the recipe I had called for 1 cup of oil. I also cut back on sugar, switched to whole wheat flour and added some oatmeal. OK, I know that list sounds like a sure-fire dud, but trust me please! With these changes the muffins are now the perfect everyday breakfast muffin.

I do find all the grating a bit labour intensive. Too make things quicker I don't bother peeling the apple or carrots- you can't tell the difference in the final texture. If you don't always have pineapple on hand I would suggest upping the carrot and apple quantities, or maybe trying mashed bananas instead. I always double the recipe and then freeze most of the muffins by indiviually wrapping them in saran wrap for a ready-to-go snack or breakfast the next day.


Morning Glory Muffins

Combine moist ingredients-

1 cup carrot (2 large, 3 med), grated
1 med apple, grated
1 9 ounce tin crushed pineapple (undrained)
1/2 cup milk or yogourt
1/4 cup brown sugar (add more depending on how sweet your tooth is)
3 T oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Then add but don't stir until all the dry ingredients are in the bowl-

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger (optional)
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Optional add-is: a T or so of ground flax seed or wheat germ; 1/2 cup coconut (this recipe is flexible, if it seems dry just add a bit more milk)

Mix together and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes

Stay tuned for my blueberry oatmeal muffin recipe - healthy breakfast muffins take 2..