Bran Muffins

 

Jam filled bran muffins

Bran Muffins Bake them at home to provide a fibre rich breakfast and on the go snacks choice for family

Baked products are notorious for being laden with sugar and fats, despite that we crave them and indulge eating them often. Plus children love them, however these treats when baked at home gives us an option to control the ingredients and portion sizes.

Wheat bran is an excellent source of dietary fiber aids in preventing:

 colon diseases (including cancer), stomach cancer, breast cancer, gallbladder disease, hemorrhoids and hiatal hernia. It is also used for treating constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

These bran muffins are delicious! Very moist with a hint of sweetness, and the molasses give the muffins a great rich flavor.

Some of these are filled with jams, and fruit preserves, some with fresh chopped cherries, peaches and I left some plain. Filled Bran Muffins, contains a whopping amount of bran with some white flour.

Here goes a two very well tested and a healthier recipe options for baking and enjoying breakfast muffins. 

Bake it at home to provide a fibre rich breakfast and on the go snacks choice for family. 

1- Filled Bran Muffins:

 Ingredients 

 makes 12-14 regular size muffins of 24-30 small muffins


1 1/4 cups/55gms wheat bran (can go as much as 100gms)

1 cup/150gms white flour (maida/regular flour)


1/225ml cup buttermilk (add equal amount of yogurt and milk stir to mix them and leave for 10 min)


1/2 cup/157gms/117ml vegetable oil


3/4 cup/100gms brown sugar 


1 egg 


1 tablespoon molasses 


1 teaspoon baking powder 


1 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 teaspoon salt 

fillings of your choice ½ tsp per muffin

Directions:

1- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line with paper muffin liners. 

2-In a small bowl, mix together the wheat bran and buttermilk. Set aside to soak until thickened, about 10 minutes.

3- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to blend together the brown sugar, vegetable oil, egg and molasses. 

4- Stir in the bran mixture. 

 5- Soft together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; 

6- Add in the batter until just moistened dont try to make a smooth paste. 

7-  Spoon batter into muffin cups, by fill it half and then placing the filling genrally no more then1/2 tsp and then top with rest of the batter the tins should be 3/4 filled. 

8-  Leave one of the tins empty and half fill it with water for even baking.

9- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or a tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Variations:

-        A mashed banana added to the bran/buttermilk mixture

-        add  any fruit jam or preserve to each muffin tin in between scoops of batter in each muffin tin or a fresh chopped apple for the raisins

-        add chopped fresh cherries or peaches between scoops

-        Increasing the amount of fibre wont effect the muffins, I went as high as 150gms.

  
Recipe-2

Raisin Bran Muffins 

Ingredients:


45gms plain flour (maida or chappati flour)
55 gms wholewheat flour
50gms  wheatbran
100gms brown sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 tsp salt
250ml Buttermilk
Juice of 1/2 medium sized lemon 
55gms Oil (canola, sunflower or any vegetable oil, or unsalted softened butter)
 1 egg
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions: Makes 

Makes 12 large muffins

- Preheat oven to 400F/200C and greese or line a muffin tray
-Sift all dry ingredients together
-Now add the bran and  raisins 
- cream the buttermilk, lemon juice, egg  and oil in a mixing bowl
-slowly stir in the dry mixture in the batter only untill everything is just mixed.
-Pour in prepared muffins tins/tray, leaving one cup half filled with water
-Bake 20-25 minutes on 400F/200C test  inserting a toothpick which comes out clean if completely cooked


Note: 

Good baking is all about accurate measures and the freshest of ingredients. 

Check out weight coversions .

I prefer using a digital weighing scale for accuracy and

Relieve Stress with Herbal Tea

Lemongrass and Lemon balm brewed into a delightful lemon flavored pleasant tasting calming herbal drink

  Herbs contains excellent healing powers due to the presence of a number of important phytochemicals and flavonoids. Since historical times they have been used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Regular use of  herbs in everyday cooking and consumption is a natural way of staying healthy and find remedy and precaution against many disease and ailments.

I experimented  today brewing a herbal tea picking some of the herbs growing in my Kitchen Garden. With all the medicinal benefits of Lemon balm, Lemon grass, lemon juice and honey. This concoction is totally relaxing after a hard working day or to replace all the sugary and carbonated bottled and tinned drinks with meals.

 I have picked a big bunch of lemon grass and put that in electric kettle filling 1.5 litres of water. While it was boiling filling the entire house with the fresh lemony fragrance, I have added a teaspoon of tea in a 2 litre jug (use any green team, or normal breakfast tea). In an another tumbler, I have added slices of lemon, 1 teaspoon honey and the washed leaves of lemon balm (Omit honey if you don’t want it sweet).

 

Once the lemon grass water is boiled I have poured the water into the jug containing tea to brew for 5 min, and then poured it carefully in the tumbler that has honey, juice and lemon balm leaves, taking care no tea leaves or any remains of boiled lemon grass gets into it, stirred it few times so the honey and lemon juices gets mixed with tea . 

Here a delightful lemon flavored pleasant tasting calming herbal drink packed with health and wellness is ready to sip hot or chilled as iced tea to relieve stress, tension and fatigue.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis): from the mint family is known for its calming  effects on nerves. Beside being a rich antioxident, researches showed that lemon balm have been used for centuries to reduce anxiety, promote sleep and improve symptoms of indigestion. 

Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a perennial grass also called citronella. Contains very strong antioxident and anti-inflammatory properties. It contains luteolin one of the flavanoids that slows the growth of cancer cells specially in liver, breast cancer. One of its common use and effects is relief of headache. Lemongrass is also a good detox agent, helps the body eliminate toxic substances including cleansing of the kidney, pancreas, liver and bladder.

Kale The Super Vegetable

Food is among one of the many ways I explore and experience culture,  cooking and eating traditions including a range of newer unknown ingredients, produce and spices. This helps me create unique and exotic recipes and improve the meals and eating habits picking best practices. 

Kale is one such thing that I have discovered lately eating at some American friends home and seeing them being sold plentiful at grocery stores.

Sauted Kale topped with toasted pine nuts

Kale is a cruciferous vegetable from the Brassica family, Brassica oleracea is the name used for; cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, Chinese broccoli, and collard greens. However instead of forming heads, Kale are loose leaves growing from stems.

 

Sauted Kale and cherry tomatos flavoured with garlic and salt served with sunny side up  makes a healthy breakfast

Kale holds the reputation for being one of the healthiest leafy vegetable on the planet. Its nutrition profile made it extremely popular among health conscious people and placed it on the top list of super foods. Kale has been the most eaten vegetable in middle ages specially in Europe, it is a vegetable for colder regions, however is highly adaptable and hardy.

 Source: Plant Based Dietician

Kale Chips makes great snack and appetizer

Kale is primarily popular for high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K -- and sulphur-containing phytonutrients. Carotenoids and flavonoids are antioxidants associated with many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale is also rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin compounds. One cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Kale Chips-Rub some olive oils and salt on washed and dried Kale, bake them at  high heat for 15 minutes or untill crisp

  I have experimented sowing the Kale seeds early November last year. I sowed Kale Lacitano, and Red Russian Kale, after a good 7 weeks, looks like the experiment worked,  they are growing happily in several big and small terracotta

Red Russian Kale at 4 weeks

pots, almost 8-12” tall now. The soil mixture I used contained 2 parts soil, 

1 part compost and 1 part organic fertilizer. Seeds are thinly raked into the soil and cover with a ¼” layer of compost. The sprouts show up within a week, and in 5-6, weeks time the plants are fully grown ready to harvest. During the growing season, all we need is to to side fertilize it with some good quality organic fertilizer or some liquid or granular commercial vegetable fertilize.

Full grown plant of Red Russian Kale

Kale Lacitano also called Dinasaur Kale

I keep harvesting the bigger leaves and the new leaves keep growing. The plant in general produce for two years before it bolts. Kale is a cool weather crop, however it is hardy and have abilities to acclimatized in most weather, just the taste varies with the weather conditions, sweet in colder weather and gets stronger and bitter with the rising temperature. I yet have to see its growth pattern in the scorching heat of Karachi summers.

The super vegetable can be cooked in to a range of healthy and sumptuous dishes by sauting, stir frying, steaming or baking. The taste is tremendously enhanced with the use of onion, roasted or fried garlic flakes, lemon, herbs and tomatoes. I don’t use much of spices with kale besides salt, pepper, and some fresh red/green chilli flakes. 15 great Kale recipes

Stir fried Kale with roasted tomatoes

 

Kale and Orange Juice drink

Kale also makes great drink, simply blended in health drinks like chilled smoothies, and fresh fruit cocktails. I experimented blending it with fresh orange and or grapefruit juices, adding apples, or making smoothie with low fat yogurt and berries of your choice. Adding some honey to your Kale drinks help mellow down the bitter after taste of chlorophyll of these greens.

It is time home gardeners and commercial farmers begin growing Kale for market consumption. We should not miss out on this goodness of nature. 

 For home-gardeners, it is an initial expense to get Kale seeds from any online vendor that mail seeds to Pakistan or having one of your friends or family bring it for you if they are traveling from UK, USA, Canada or Europe.

Our Eating Habits are Killing Us

 Our Eating Habits are Killing Us..

Time to Think and Change

Food Insecurity in Pakistan

Food Insecurity in Pakistan from SIE-iEARN on Vimeo.

The current National Nutrition Survey data is an eye opener for Pakistani population. A healthy population is phenomenal for building a strong nation, and unfortunately we are among one of the unhealthiest countries of the world. 

The numbers in this video is scary leaving us in a state of emergency. Besides community outreach and mass level healthy eating compaign, it is time for each one of us rethink and bring about changes and shifts in our food intake and choices that we make to cook and fill up our meal plates, these are little shifts but can make big impacts:

•to help manage weight and prevents overweight and obesity

•to reduce the risk of chronic disease

•to reduce the risk of early deaths

-to ensure a long and disease free life.

1- Grains:

We have been eating polished rice, refined (white) atta, maida.
Processing grains may imporves its texture, looks, taste and shelf life but destroys many important vitamins as well as removes the bran from the grains.

switch to:

Whole grains;  bran rice, wholewheat atta, whole grain barley, jai, jo ka atta, oats

Whole grains provide a substantial amount of undamaged vital nutrients  dietary fiber, several B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate), and minerals (iron, magnesium, and selenium).

2-Pulses:

We cook with all washed/polished daals like moong, masoor, and mash etc. Again removing husk and polishing is an industrial process and destorys the nutrients and fibre.

Replace with chilka wali moong, masour and mash that is with their husk still on for getting the maximum benefits from the fibre

We eat chickpeas and black gram, these are good,  continue eating these in the same form that is whole. 

Also add:

Red kidney beans, soya beans, black beans and several other beans, 1/4 of our meal plates should be lentils, and beans.

3- Salads:

We in Pakistan generally eat onion, tomatoes and cucumber salads on a small plate shared by whole family.

Switch to huge servings of salads made with; more green leafy vegetable, ice berg, rocket, salad leaf, mustard, methi, baby spinach, cabbage. We can be creative adding beans, sprouts, other raw vegetable, cottage cheese in it, depending on if you want it as side or your main course.

Half of our meal plates should be vegetable and fruits. 

Green leafy vegetable and fruits generally used for salads are rich in Vitamins, A, C and K helps build strong bones and increase bone mass density. Green leafy vegetable are also rich sources of many Flavonoids and Phytochemicals which are antioxident and posses exceltion disease prevention properties including Cardrio Vascular, and many Cancer types.

4- Vegetable:

Vegetable curries, shorba or bhaji we cook it till they are discolored and nutrients are destroyed.  Make a shift towards quick cooking techniques that preserves colour and nutrients.  Also  select different colored vegetables.

Sauted, stir fry, steam and grilled vegetable using the same desi spices and herbs is a healthy move. In a shorba salaan add vegetable the last 5 minutes, they don’t need so much  heat to cook and not that long. Cooking vegetable on high heat destroys all the vital vitamins, minerals, favanoids and phytochemicals from them leaving just some fibre which only taste good because of spices and oil. 

5- Fried food and Oil

Our meals have lots of deep fried food!!

Switch to shallow frying and consume these fried food as a rare treat.

Try cooking in the minimum possible quantity of oil, trust me, more oil does not mean better taste.

We love dropping our food in hot boiling oil with that sizzling sound and a whiff of aroma. Naah... oil changes its composition the moment it boils, and becomes carcinogenic.

We can get same taste and texture cooking in hot (not boiling) oil.

6- Sugar

Sugar and cocaine have same status, both are addictive and hazardous to health, research scientist equate it with cocaine and consider it no less then drugs. Sugar is addictive, we crave for it, and all we get is no nutrient empty calories by consuming sugar

We are used to adding white refined sugar in our tea, coffee deserts

Cut down sugar from diet and consume limited quantities by switching to:

Brown unrefined sugar, gurr/jaggery, or if you can get maple syrup, and stevia.
These are sweet however, also contain nutrition, and are not empty sugar. 

7-Fruits:

One fruit a day for an average adult is enough in a day, don’t overload it.

Fresh Juice is a new buzz word, don’t drink your fruits eat them as much as possible.

Juicing destroys the soluble fibre and ultimately your body gets more sugar. The fruit fibre stops a lot of extra sugar from absorbing.

Check out nutrient content of fruits, try eating more, specially the ones with low calorie and are nutrient dense.

8- Proteins:

We eat, fat laden curries, meat, organ meats on everyday basis, animal proteins like meat are great sources of protein but they come with saturated fats, which result in many disease and obesity.

Taking a 45-50gms of protein every day is important to maintain good health. Select good fat free and lean sources of proteins.

Try to adjust your protein intake by eating:

More Plant protein and very limited lean animal protein (excluding eggs)

Pulses, soya beans, quinoa grains, nuts and seeds are all rich in protein from plants and would not block arteries.

Eggs, Fish and seafood are great way to get protein and Omega fatty acids.

Meat without any fat should be an occasional treat.

9- Dairy

Milk and milk products are considered a popular healthy food!! However too much of full fat dairy is not what would keep us healthy. 

Though rich in good fats and proteins, we don’t need so much of it, 2-3 servings of low fat dairy in total including the ones we add in our Tea Coffee and deserts are enough.

Include low fat skimmed milk, cottage cheese, strained or greek yogurt in meals.

10- Water, Juices and drinks

The latest trend is that soda cans, bottled packaged, juices and sugary drinks are a significant part of every meal table and school canteens. 

Cut down all carbonated boxed, bottled juices, vitamin water from your lives. Drink plenty of water, 64 ounces a day minimum. Fresh juices taste and sound good and fresh, however, don’t waste all the great fibre from the fruits by drinking them.  Eat your fruits rather then drinking them.

So to summarize all this next time when you plan your meals and fill up your plate it should have:

·      Nutrient-dense foods instead of calorie-dense foods.

·      Variety fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors

·      •Low-fat or fat free milk and dairy products.

·      •Fiber-rich whole grains.

·      •Protein foods that are low in fat.

Balance Calories:

•Eat the right amount of calories for you

•Enjoy your food, but eat less

•Cut back on foods high in SOFAS (solid fat and added sugars) and empty calories

Note: I wrote this blog as part of the iEARN Photojournalism2.014 Heritage, Hunger and Food Security project. The project is implemented in Pakistan in collaboration with iEARN USA and iEARN Tajikistan with support and funding from Bureau of South and Central Asia-US Department of States.