Do you need a little bran in your diet?

I don't know about your children, but my kids only like Raisin Bran with LOTS of raisins. I bought Post Raisin Bran the other day and found there were VERY few raisins. The kids would poor their bowls of cereal and get frustrated that their were so little raisins. It was then that I realized my boxes of Post Raisin Bran would now be sent to my 'muffin' cereal stash. Raisin Bran makes the PERFECT Bran Muffins. It is a great way to use up those left over small bran crumbs in the bottom of the cereal bag (I just keep a baggie full of the crumbs in my pantry until I have enough to make muffins). These muffins can be made COMPLETELY out of items in your food storage (you would need to use powdered eggs and dried carrots-or just leave the carrots out). This recipe is a great way to practice using and eating those whole grains--bran, whole wheat flour, etc.

These muffins are GREAT the way they are (and extremely healthy), but if your children need a little more sweetness to eat these healthy muffins, you can add a simple struesel to the top to make them even better (butter, cinnamon, flour, sugar).

These muffins are great for breakfast, or as an after school snack. The muffin mix will also stay good in the fridge for a couple of weeks if you want to make fresh muffins each day.

Bran Muffins
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. bran (if using bran flakes from cereal, just let them soak in the wet ingredients for a few minutes to help them become soft so you can mix them together)
1 ¼ t. baking powder
1 ¼ t. baking soda
¾ t. nutmeg
½ t. salt
5 whole carrots, grated (about 1/2 c. grated mini carrots if you use those instead)
10 oz. raisins
2/3 c. applesauce
2/3 c. honey
5 eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Add carrots, raisins, applesauce, honey, eggs and vanilla. Stir everything together and cook in muffin tin for 15-17 minutes at 375. Icing for top of muffins is 2 T. lemon juice, 1 c. powder sugar-stir until smooth and drizzle on muffins.