How to Eat A Healthy Breakfast Every Day

Breakfast: The most important meal of the day. Also the most disregarded and least heralded meal of the day, because everybody wants a few more hours of sleep. One of my solutions is to bake a big batch of muffins one night and freeze them. Then, on a busy weekday morning, I take out one or two muffins, heat ‘em up, spread them with some butter (or butter spread) and enjoy with a glass of soy milk/herbal tea.

Here is the best recipe I’ve ever tried for bran muffins. They’re delicious and good for you, what with the rolled oats (note: old-fashioned, NOT quick), wheat bran and whole wheat flour! I like to experiment with it, though it's perfect as it is, to try to boost the nutrition even more. Last night, I made a batch but added shredded carrot for added vitamin A and some ground flaxseed meal for extra Omega 3's, lignans, and fiber. Yum!

Bran Muffins

2 ½ tsp. baking soda
½ c. hot water
1 c. rolled oats
1 c. wheat bran
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. unbleached flour
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
2 eggs
½ c. oil
1 c. brown sugar
2 ½ c. buttermilk
handful of raisins (optional)
handful of toasted walnut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat 24 muffins tins with oil and set aside (or line with muffin liners). Combine the hot water and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.

Whisk oats, bran, wheat flour, unbleached flour, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl to blend. In a separate large bowl, mix oil, brown sugar, buttermilk and eggs lightly. Add the hot water mixture and flour mixture, as well as raisins and walnuts if desired, and stir to incorporate.

Divide muffins into 24 muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool in a rack for five minutes.