Hi Everyone,
I am slowly attempting to cook and bake with a diabetic mind. Okay, I have this cook book ( because of the large pictures) and there is a Bran Muffin recipe in it. The orginal recipe goes as fallows : Makes 12 medium size muffins
1 Cup Flour
11/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp margarine or vegetable oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses ( or honey)
1 egg
1 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2
Info per muffin ( In the book)
Calories 144
Carbohydrates 29 g
Fiber 4 g
Protein 4 g
Fat. Total 3g
Far, Saturated 0 g
Cholesterol 16 mg
Sodium 229 mg
Now, I didn’t think that all that sugar was that great. So made it with splenda brown sugar and I used honey instead of molasses. I found these muffins to be very sweet! I liked them but I stupidly didn’t test before or after eating one. ( Now they are all eaten by my friends and family.)
Does anyone think that this recipe is still okay to use on it’s own or should I keep using Splenda Brown Sugar? I have just made another two batches of these muffins using fresh blueberries and one batch using molasses and other with honey. I was under the impression that baked goods and sugar is all bad.
Congratulations. I think you will find that you can make wonderful baked goods that are surprisingly low carb.
Well, let me just say that I believe a carb is a carb is a carb. Whether it is flour or sugar or maple syrup, it still raises your blood sugar.
So that being said, the key in low carb baking is to find suitable substitutes for the key carby ingredients. I like to use almond meal in place of flour, some people use flax meal. Generally, I will substitute splenda for all the sweeteners in the recipe. In some cases, you may find that brown sugar or molasses is still important for consistency and browning in some recipes. The splenda for baking is actually half sugar and the splenda brown sugar is half splenda and half brown sugar. I tend to use pure splenda and if I want to mix in some brown sugar, I do that separately.
I am sure you will hear shortly from Gerri who has some good low carb recipes.
Geesh, 29 carbs for one small muffin! What’s diabetic friendly about this recipe? It could have come from any cookbook.
Here’s a healthier low carb version that has only 2 carbs per muffin.Wheat flour, margarine & vegetable oil aren’t the best options. I sometimes use a little bit of molasses for flavor. A small amount goes a long way in baking & the carbs are negligible spread over 8-12 servings.
I use zero carb liquid Splenda–Fiberfit ordered from netrition.com, or zero carb stevia powder. Some stevia products have carbs from the added bulking agents. If you use granular Splenda, the carb count will be higher.
Muffins (Endless variations on what could be added–poppy seeds, lemon extract, lemon zest, maple extract, banana extract.)
1 1/4 cups almond flour (or golden flaxseed meal, or 1/2 of each)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Artificial sweetener equal to 1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 12-muffin tin very well, or use cupcake liners for no clean-up.
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Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the rest of them.
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Let batter stand 5 minutes, pour into the muffin tin. Bake for about 18 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean & muffins just barely start to pull away from the sides of the tin.
Each muffin contains 2 grams effective carbohydrate plus 5 grams fiber. More carbs if using granulated Splenda.
This sounds like a basically “healthy” recipe for the nondiabetic or the diabetic who is not concerned about carbs (i.e. takes meds to “cover” the carbs). Seems like so-called diabetic recipes are just that, sort of basically healthy recipes for people who don’t need to worry about blood sugar. Which always seems strange to me.
But 29 carbs for one muffin sure looks high in my book.
I think it’s great to start with a recipe you like.
By all means, substitute unbleached almond flour for the flour, add some protein whey, eliminate molasses/honey, and use no carb sugar. Recipes in diabetic cook books are notoriously higher in carbs than I can eat even with insulin.
I would keep pulling each ingredient down with substitutions until I came out with 2-3 grams per muffin. I use Da Vinci no carb flavorings; it comes in maple so would substitute for your brown sugar if you add the protein whey to keep from too much liquid. You can add nuts to muffins. Try unsweetened coconut, too.
I am going to stop on the way home and pickup the supplies for this. It looks really good
Hope you like them.
You can make a savory version that’s very good. Leave out the spices & some of the sweetener. Instead, add grated cheese, garlic, parsley, chives, fresh pepper & whatever herbs you like.
“…the diabetic who is not concerned about carbs (i.e. takes meds to “cover” the carbs).”
This is a common misconception. There may be some people like that out there, but many of us who take meds (insulin) to cover our carbs still a very much concerned about carbs and keep our carb count limited which means less insulin needed. If not, we are in danger of developing insulin resistance, gaining weight, and making errors resulting in high or low blood sugar.
Gerri,
I just finished making the muffins. I had a hard time finding of of the ingredients… I ended up finding Flaxseed Meal, some Twin Liquid Sugar and a jar that said Pure Coconut Oil. I hope that was right. It looks like lard.
My only thing is the first batch I made I accidentally put 1 tablespoon of Nutmeg in it.
The second batch turned out better. But…I am a worried. Are they suppose to be a bit on the oily side? Should I not have used the PAM to spray my muffin tins?
I am going to have one in the morning as my breakfast and see what happens.
Non-related - Does anyone wait until their BG drops before they eat in the morning? Mine was high at 7.9 this morning and it was still up to 8.3 (without eating anything.) at noon.
Carly
Hi Carly,
As long as the coconut oil is virgin coconut oil, it’s the right thing. At warm temps it’s liquid. At cool temps it’s solid. I keep mine in the cabinet over the stove so it stays liquid (except in the winter). You can put the jar in hot water to liquify it to make it easier to mix with other ingredients.
They are kind of oily made with only flaxseed meal. You can reduce the coconut oil a little bit. I use paper cupcake liners. You need to grease the tin if you don’t use liners so they don’t stick. If you use a silicon muffin tin, you don’t need to use PAM because nothing sticks to silicone.