Banana bran muffins are great to have on hand for breakfast on-the-go!

Makes 1 dozen muffins

ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 large egg
1 large egg white
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed banana (2 medium bananas)
1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Whisk egg, egg white and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Add buttermilk, banana, bran, oil and vanilla and whisk until blended. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and sprinkle with nuts. Bake until tops spring back when touched lightly, 15 to 20 minutes. Loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per muffin: 197 calories; 7 g fat (1 g sat, 4 g mono); 18 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 251 mg sodium; 188 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Selenium (17% daily value).
2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 2 other carbohydrate, 1 fat

Sounded good, but they were very disappointing. Poor color and didn't rise nearly enough. They stayed pasty, even when baked beyond given time. The recipe needs more something, or maybe just less bran. The topping was not a hit, nor gave any pizzaz. Finally threw them out. Would not make this recipe again. Not worth the effort and time.

Jane M., New York, NY

These are a regular staple around our house for using up those ripe bananas! Healthy and not too sweet. We add some mini chocolate chips to help entice the kids to try them. They also freeze well (wrap individually in plastic wrap; defrost in microwave), making it easy to grab a good breakfast for the road.

Heidi, Boise, ID

Made these this morning for my children. The recipe yielded more than a dozen muffins, so I put the remaining batter in a small loaf pan. I also sprinkled homemade, organic granola on top of the muffins instead of the nuts this recipe calls for. The kids seemed to really enjoy them.

Anonymous, Starkville, MS