Peri-parturient Bran Muffins

Peri-parturient Bran Muffins

You don’t have to be close to birthing to appreciate these bran muffins, but it certainly helps.  My wife and I recently welcomed our first child to this world, a beautiful baby girl.  Being a first time parent is an amazing experience, but it has not been without its fair share of unpleasant surprises.  Without divulging too much personal information, I’ll just say that the need for a good source of fiber reared its ugly head round about the onset of the third trimester, and has continued through the first few months post-delivery.  This recipe is a variant on a recipe my mom used to make for us when we were growing up.  It’s positively loaded with fiber, but in contrast to most bran muffins, these muffins are delicious, moist, and stay good for days if they last that long without getting eaten (they seldom do at our house).  Without further ado, I present to you Peri-parturient Bran Muffins!

Combine:

3 cups All Bran

4 large Shredded Wheat biscuits

1 cup Chia seed or Flax seed (Any seed high in Omega-3 fatty acids will work)

2 cups boiling water

While these ingredients are soaking up the water, Combine:

4 eggs, beaten

½ cup apple sauce

½ cup vegetable oil

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

5 tsp. baking soda

1 quart buttermilk (1 quart 2% milk mixed with a couple tablespoons of vinegar will work)

Add this slurry of ingredients to your fiber laden mass and mix thoroughly.  A Kitchen Aid or Bosch mixer comes in really handy for this part. 

Once ingredients are thoroughly mixed, add about 5 cups of flour gradually.  Discontinue adding flour when mixture achieves desired consistency. 

Fill greased muffin tins to about ¾ full and bake at 400^oF for 20 minutes.  This recipe will make enough batter for at least 4 dozen muffins.  If you don’t want to make 4 dozen at once, cover the unused batter and place in the fridge until it needs to be used again.  DO NOT stir the batter after it has sat in the fridge, just spoon it up into the muffin tin and bake normally; stir the batter and the muffins won’t raise properly.  One or two of these muffins a day will keep the proctologist away, and they are mighty tasty.