I had a craving for oatmeal raisin muffins last night.
The problem was that I didn’t have an oatmeal raisin muffin recipe.
I started “googling” online to find a healthy recipe that someone else had already tried and succeeded making. I searched through site after site of muffins that were “healthy” – and I learned that the word ‘healthy’ can mean different things to different people. I was searching for a recipe that used only a little bit of honey as a sweetener, not cups and cups of sugar. I had no organic butter in my fridge, so the recipe had to be dairy-free. I wanted to use my new all purpose celiac flour to try making the muffins gluten-free (I had gluten-free quick oats at home).
There was not one recipe that satisfied my need! I could give up and be gloomy all evening, or I could get out my muffin pans and my beaters and experiment. And that is what I decided to do.
When I cook meals I like to try out different things: I will try out new spices, and use a ‘pinch of this’ and a ‘pinch of that’. And my meals always seem to turn out, for the most part. However, when it comes to baking, I like following a recipe. I’m just not the baking kind of girl, so I steer clear of attempting things and instead follow what I know works. I wasn’t sure that I could bake a tasty healthy muffin.
I wanted those muffins bad, so I had to let my guard down and go for it. I took a healthy cranberry-raisin muffin recipe I had and began to substitute this for that. And, to my surprise, it only took one attempt. I did not waste batches and batches of muffins before I found one that worked. Indeed not. They actually turned out. And the true test of how delicious they were came from my man, who ate many throughout the evening.
I learned that even if you don’t think you are good at baking, sometimes if you just try you will surprise yourself. I also learned that you can take the basis of any of your “old” recipes and re-create something new. It is possible to make muffins with only a tablespoon of honey instead of 2 cups of sugar. You don’t need loads of sweeteners to make something taste good.
So, I ask you: what recipes have you altered to make them healthier? What recipes have you made up when you were really craving something?
My next attempt will be an extremely healthy oatmeal raisin cookie. Yes, I AM hoping it can be done…..I’ll let you know.
