Cranberry Muffins Without the Muffin Top

Ahh yes the cranberry.  That sweet, tart, little nugget of goodness.  One of the things that I ended up having to limit myself on was muffins when I first started to make changes in my life.  I used to think, “Hey, I’ll eat something healthy, like… a muffin.” It sounds like a good idea but muffins on average are packed with high fat and calories. A deceiving bunch of bastards aren’t they? Starbucks has a Cranberry Orange Muffin that looks wonderful and sounds healthy but packs about 420 calories, and 20 grams of fat! 20!!!! (That’s 10 Points in WW speak). That is insane. I could eat a friggin’ McDonald’s cheeseburger for that much.

So! I scoured around and tried a few recipes and found this one to be great.  Instead of 420 calories, these are 152.  Much better.  And the fat content is down to 4 grams which is far more fat ass friendly than Starbucks.

Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp orange extract
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flours, baking powder, and
cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add the dry ingredients slowly to the large bowl and mix until blended. Do not over beat.

Pour the batter into 12 nonstick muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove muffins from oven and let cool slightly. Remove muffins from pan and let cool completely.

This recipe yields 12 servings. Serving size: 1 muffin.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 152; Total Fat 4g;
Saturated Fat 0g; Carbohydrate 27g; Dietary Fiber 2g;

WW Points: 3 (per muffin)

Tip: To lower the calories even more you can substitute Splenda for the sugar.  I have done this and they turn out just as good.

Credits:
Recipe from “Flavorful Seasons Cookbook” by Robyn Webb, MS, (© McGraw Hill - NTC, 1996)

Nutritional information about Starbucks food found here.