Muffin Mania

Does anyone remember the Muffin Mania Cookbook popular in the 80's that sold over 500 000 copies?!  It was written by two sisters from Kitchener and was an instant success.
Mom, do you still have your original copy?  I hear well-loved, dogeared copies are selling for upwards of 100 dollars online! Not that I would EVER suggest selling this vintage gem! Making muffins from this particular cookbook is one of my earliest, childhood baking memories.  The book was re-released in 2008 with an updated cover, all the original Muffin Mania recipes and some healthy tips and substitutions.

There is much debate as to whether or not muffins are a healthy snack.  Certainly a muffin you bake yourself does not contain any hidden ingredients and you can control the amount of fat, sugar, and fiber as well as the size so your homemade variety is a superior snack option to it's super-sized, drive-though counterpart.  Sometimes you want a treat and a cake-like, chocolate-studded muffin is what you are after and that's okay! but if you are looking for a healthy snack, portable breakfast or after work-out fuel, this high fiber muffin recipe originally posted here is a great recipe to add to your repertoire of healthy go-to snacks.  I made a few tweeks to the original recipe; my version below as follows:

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Cereal
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain Balkan yogurt
1 banana mashed
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3/4 cups finely shredded carrot
2 tablespoons coconut oil melted (or oil of choice)
1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
small apple, cored and diced small (optional but really good!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all your wet ingredients including the mashed banana and stir in your cereal allowing the mixture to soften for about 15 minutes. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil and stir.  Mix in the carrot, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and diced apple.  Spoon the batter into a greased muffin tin and sprinkle with oats or seeds if you like.  I made this batch of muffins nut-free for school, but some finely chopped nuts are a healthy addition of good fats and protein if allergy is not a concern.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.
These freeze really well and because they are lower in fat and preservative-free, go stale rather quickly.  I typically leave a few out and freeze the rest to grab and go as needed.  A muffin left out on the counter or packed in your bag for later in the day defrosts quite quickly and will taste as fresh as the  day you made it.