Important life lesson learned today: Instant Jello chocolate pudding does not set up when made with rice milk. Probably not with soy milk, I’m guessing, either. The Science of Instant Pudding did not have a definitive answer, but it seems to have something to do with the proteins present in animal milk that vegetable-based milks lack.

My pudding liquid tastes delicious, but what can I do with it other than drink it?

Muffins!

Muffins are an amazing breakfast food that have been unfairly maligned. These convenient little capsules of goodness can contain the perfect fuel to start your day, but they’re usually more like cupcakes without the frosting. Bran muffins, on the other hand, are the boring, nutritious member of the muffin family that everyone knows are good for you, but most people don’t look forward to eating. This is the problem that I set out to solve with my muffin experimentation, and solve it I did, as far as I’m concerned.

I started with this recipe for “Classic Bran Muffins”, from allrecipes.com, and modified it to be both healthier and more delicious by halving the sugar and oil and adding apple and spices. I usually make a double batch of these and freeze the excess to thaw in the microwave as I want them.

Granny Smith apples are an excellent choice for these, and Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal is the only bran cereal I’ve used, but I suspect substitutions for other of these ingredients would be fine. I’ve also very successfully used Ener-G Egg Replacer when I didn’t have eggs, and next time I make them I may try substituting soy milk for the buttermilk to see how a vegan version would taste. Sometimes I add nutmeg, but they’re excellent without it, too.

They definitely taste better than they look!

Spicy Apple Ginger Bran Muffins

2 cups bran cereal

1 apple, grated

1 inch fresh ginger, grated (approximate)

1 cup lowfat buttermilk

2.5 tbsp vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tbsp ground ginger

1/2 tbsp nutmeg (optional)

1-2 tbsp flax seed meal (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups if using muffin tins, skip this step if you have silicon cups.
2. Mix together bran and buttermilk; let stand while mixing other ingredients.
3. Grate or finely chop apple and peeled ginger (a food processor works well) and stir in with the bran and buttermilk.
4. Beat together oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to buttermilk/bran/apple mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, dry spices, flax seed meal, and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended, and generously spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Do not overbake!