Recipe: Loaded Cranberry-Oatmeal Muffins

A few days ago, I made one of my baking staples, Apple-Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffins.  Only to discover I had no oat bran, no eggs (I've been veering to vegan of late, so eggs don't often make it into the house these days), and lots of dried (unsweetened!) cranberries from Fairland Farm I bought at the Pawtucket Winter Market on a recent trip to Rhode Island.

I altered my original recipe and the results are a new favorite that uses a "flax egg," increases the oats and nuts, and makes for a healthy, crunchy, delightful breakfast or snack. 

Loaded Cranberry-Oatmeal Muffins

1/2 C. wheat flour 

1 C. oats

1 C. ground/chopped nuts (I used a blend of pecans and walnuts, chopped by hand)

1 T ground flaxseed for flax egg, and 3 T ground flaxseed for dough

1 tsp baking soda

1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (I double or triple the amount!)

3 T walnut oil 

1/3 C applesauce (I use homemade)

1/4 C maple syrup

1 whole apple, grated (or pear)

Unsweetened dried cranberries (a 1/2 cup?  a cup?  whatever you prefer!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tins.

2. In small bowl, whisk 1 T flaxseed and 3 T water.  Let sit to form a "flax egg."

3.  In large bowl, mix together oats, flour, flax, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nuts.

4. To flax/water mixture, add: oil, applesauce and maple syrup.  Add grated apple.  Don't forget to add the juice of grated apple.

5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  Spoon batter into muffin tins.  Bake for 22-25 minutes or until tops spring back when touched and are brown, and center is cooked.  I usually check them at 20 minutes and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Place tins on wire rack to cool. 

6.  Remove from tins after 5 minutes or so, and cool on plate.    Keep refrigerated until ready to enjoy!

Secret Weapon: Applesauce

First batch of applesauce.  Since then, I've been peeling the apples -- to much better results!

Apples continue to be a fantastic resource for my GERD gut.    This is an anti-trigger food for me -- no problems with apples in any form, and I am one of the countless people who swear apples help minimize GERD when eaten alongside other foods.   The fiber is a huge help in my intestinal health, too -- which coincides with better stomach/esophageal health, for me.

There are dozens of "testimonials" around the web and in bookstores promoting the use of apples or apple products (apple cider vinegar, apple juice, etc.) as a GERD preventative but American healthcare professionals are still not convinced.  Why?  There are no formal, scientific studies on the value of apples in fighting GERD symptoms, so of course the medical community has to balk at the "anecdotal" evidence.   (When will "natural" remedies get their due?!  Maybe the "snake oil salesman" sites distract "serious" researchers from considering them.  Not to mention Big Pharma, which has the big bucks to entice doctors to study lucrative pills instead of fruit.)

Some favorite examples of pro-apple/cider vinegar real-life accounts I found online:

• The Washington Post's blog editor asks doctors about the virtues of apple cider vinegar as a cure for GERD; while no medical experts would support it as a remedy, blog readers chime in with their positive experiences.

• Blogger Still Blonde After All These Years details her experiences in her post, Apple Cider Vinegar for GERD, How I Stopped Taking Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI)

• Another article from Livestrong that supports apples and other natural remedies as anti-GERD resources.

HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE -- TASTY AND GERD-FRIENDLY!

In any case, I'm swearing by apples.  They are nutritious, tasty, and never exacerbate my GERD -- I'm convinced they help minimize symptoms.   Lately, I've been swapping my Mott's Natural Applesauce for homemade applesauce.   Now, like the dried beans vs canned beans, there's almost no going back.  Once you get the apples peeled, a batch that lasts a few days is quick and easy to make.  And, what a great way to use up an oversupply of apples!

This is my third effort, and the best yet.  Here, I took six apples of various varieties, including a few heirlooms.  I bought a sack at my local greenmarket from the "discount" table -- if they are slightly bruised, that's not a problem.

Step 1: Peel apples, chop into small pieces, and add to a large pot.  Add enough water to float the bottom layers but do not cover the apples - I've found this amount works best.   For six apples, I added about a cup of water...

Step 2: Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.  Let simmer until softened.  Once soft, take a potato masher or fork and mash away!  Don't worry about getting it entirely smooth at this point… continue simmering.

Step 3:  Continue simmering until smooth.   You'll have to experiment with the amount of water per apples.  Also, you may want to add cinnamon or a cinnamon stick, but I like the clean taste of the plain applesauce (you can always add cinnamon when serving).  I serve either cold or warmed up a bit.   Spoon into batches and enjoy!

Recipe: Apple-Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffins

A batch of my cinnamon-oat-apple muffins in my old 1930s tins.
Not only are they fun to use -- automatic portion control since they're tiny!

Happy Monday!  I am enjoying the benefits of what feels like an extra hour due to Daylight Saving Time -- everything feels more relaxed today!   

Overall, my GERD symptoms seem to be settling a bit the past few weeks.  No more heartburn and that "feeling of food in my throat" is minimal or gone.   Still daily belching, and this morning I experienced acid reflux, but that has been subsiding as well.  I'm not doing anything different in my diet (except, in fact, eating more chocolate than usual).   The one thing that IS different is improvement in my intestinal patterns.  Maybe in the next blog post I'll address this -- how can we talk guts and leave out all those intestinal tracts!?  I don't think we can!

MUST-HAVE RECIPE:  MY "HORSE" MUFFINS

I found this recipe in the September 2008 issue of Women's Health magazine and make them nearly weekly.  These are my go-to morning snack!   Quite delicious and satisfying, though they ARE a little "wholesome" -- I joke that these are my "horse muffins" as in "something you'd feed your horse for a treat."  

The recipe is very flexible -- you can omit or use different nuts, substitute rolled oats or bran for some of the flour, add raisins or other dried fruit, replace the apple with a pear -- endless combinations!   These call for one egg; I've veganized it by using a "flax egg" but the egg-less version was not as pleasing (though edible).  (If anyone comes up with a good vegan version, let me know!)  I buy my eggs exclusively from a sustainable grocery -- the eggs come from "happy chickens in Western New York" on a small family farm.

Apple-Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffins

1/2 C. oat bran

1 C. whole-wheat flour (substitute 1/2 C. oats or bran if you wish)

1/4 C. ground flaxseed

1 tsp baking soda

1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (I double or triple the amount!)

1 tsp nutmeg

1 egg, beaten (I've tried a vegan, egg-free version of this recipe; it's very dry but ok)

4 T. canola oil  (I always use 3 T. instead of 4)

1/3 C. applesauce

1/4 C. sugar (I always use 1/4 C maple syrup)

1 whole apple, grated (or pear)

1/3 C. chopped pecans (or walnuts, or a combination)

Handful of raisins if you wish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together oat bran, flour, flax, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

3. In separate bowl, whisk together egg and oil until smooth.  Stir in applesauce and sugar.  Combine mixture and fold in nuts.  At this point, I add the grated apple.  Don't forget to add the juice of grated apple (or pear)!  Fold in raisins if using.

4. Spoon batter into lightly oiled muffin tins.  Bake for 22-25 minutes or until tops spring back when touched.  I usually let these go a few extra minutes so the tops get nice and deep brown.  Place tins on wire rack to cool. 

5.  Remove from tins after 5 minutes or so, and cool on plate.

Gerd Elimination Diet, Day 2: Tuesday, August 9

I really want chocolate!  And tea!!

I woke up feeling a slight "food in throat" issue, but this grew into "heartburn" (not so much burning as a clenched feeling, slight gnawing in my throat).  This is the pattern -- wake up, feel "the usual" FIT, ten minutes later, I feel worse.   I am definitely hungry.

Breakfast -- 6:30 AM
1 Wheetabix square
1 C. almond milk
1/4 C. raisins
1 graham cracker
-- I eat the same thing every morning, with slight variation (different cereal, different fruit).  I don't mind this one bit.

Snack -- 10:00 AM
1 Nature Valley Oat & Honey granola bar
8 oz. Poland Spring water

11:13 AM -- gnawing feeling in stomach/esophagus (I think I am getting more savvy at "feeling" the source of the gnawing, rather than the "referred" pain -- or maybe I just think I am.)    I am hungry and looking forward to lunch.  Feeling a little stressed out with many projects in front of me.

Snack -- 11:30 AM
1 Mott's Natural Applesauce cup
-- I ate this to stave off hunger before lunch and to get rid of slight nausea and grinding stomach.  (It worked.)

Lunch -- 12:10 PM
Amy's Veggie Loaf meal -- I had the low-sodium version, with 340mg sodium.  I am a real Amy's Foods aficianado.  Like this blogger. 
-- I felt great while eating this, and aside from the ever-present FIT sensation, minutes later, I feel pretty good.  Ready for part two of the work day!

Snack -- 2:00 PM
1 Nature Valley granola bar (the rest of the pack from this morning)

Snack -- 2:30 PM
4 sugar plums (from the greenmarket)

Snack -- 4:15 PM
1 small Delicious apple
-- Worried about being hungry before dinner as I am attending a late meeting; I don't want to succumb to the leftover pizza in our conference room!

Snack -- 7:30 PM
Seltzer with lemon and lime

Dinner -- 8:30 PM
Bean Curd with Basil and brown rice on the side (Brooklyn restaurant)
-- The subway was flooded last night, making my commute home long and arduous.  I had to take an alternate route and this led to me eating out.  I met J. and we went to our favorite Thai restaurant.   I was worried eating so late would give me agita but I had no concerns.  I had two sips of J.'s Coke before realizing I am not having any caffeine on the elimination diet.   Whoops.

Dessert -- 9:15 PM
1 C. strawberry ice cream (Breyer's)