Apple Raisin Walnut Muffins

My first recipe and they turned out great!  I chose muffins for a few reasons.  First, because I absolutely love muffins!  Second, because they are a great snack to take to work or when you're out and options are limited.  Muffins from coffee shops are usually loaded with sugar.  These muffins, however, are sweetened with just the right amount of honey, apple juice and raisins.  I left the peel on the apples for the extra fiber and I ground the walnuts to a fine powder in a blender.  I hope you enjoy them just as much as I did!

**Update**   I tried these muffins again and this time I chopped the walnuts instead of grinding them.  I liked them better with the bigger chunks.



Apple Raisin Walnut Muffins

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 medium or 3 small organic apples, finely chopped
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup honey
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup organic apple juice
1/4 cup melted organic butter
1 free range egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease 12 small or 6 big muffin pan with butter.
Combine flour, wheat bran, baking powder, cinnamon, apples, walnuts and raisins in a medium size bowl.
Beat honey, milk, juice, butter and egg in a small bowl until blended well.  Add to flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Spoon batter into muffin pan and bake for 15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Eat them while they're still warm, with a little bit of butter (optional).  Enjoy!

Apples

I am excited to start cooking, baking and blogging!  So, without any further procrastination, I have picked apples to be my food of September.  Unfortunately, I only have one week left of this month, so my apple recipe better be a good one!  Tomorrow I am going to make something featuring apples.  I don't know what I'm making yet.  Maybe apple muffins, or apple sauce?  I'll figure it out.

Apples are a perfect food for this time of year.  Especially here in Nova Scotia.  There are plenty of fresh, local apples around and they are delicious!  They are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and pectin, which has a detoxifying effect in the body.  There's a reason they say 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'.

But, be warned:  they are within the list of 'dirty dozen' foods because they contain a high amount of herbicides and pesticides.  Washing and peeling doesn't eliminate all the chemicals.  And besides, the peel is where you'll find most of the fiber.  So, keep the peels on and buy organic.

I'll be back tomorrow to share my first recipe.  I hope you like apples!

My first blog

Ok, here goes.  My first blog.  Please come back later when I have more to say.

Thanks!