Strawberry Raisin Bran Muffins

In elementary school, if we didn't eat all of our cereal for breakfast, my mom would put it all in one big bowl and while we were gone she'd make muffins for our after-school snack. (Yep, we had after-school snacks - pretty often, even. One benefit of having a stay-at-home mom.) I've found out that some people are grossed out by this, but it worked well. I'm not saying here to use the exact method, but it did give me an idea when the box of raisin bran got stale. I didn't want to revive it, using yesterday's method, because I didn't want the raisins to get hard. Instead I made muffins. This will work with any kind of cereal, but using raisin bran has the benefit of at least seeming healthy. I also had some strawberries that were in danger of getting moldy, so I threw them in, but the recipe would work with apples, craisins, or no additional fruit. This recipe does take longer, but the use of stale cereal is worth the time in my book.


Strawberry Raisin Bran Muffins
Makes: 18 muffins

3 1/2 cups Raisin Bran cereal (any brand, really)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk (I used 2 T of white vinegar and enough 1% milk to make 2 cups)
1 1/2 cups strawberries, diced

- Mix the dry ingredients (including cereal) in a large bowl
- Mix the wet ingredients in a medium bowl and add to dry mixture. Mix in fruit.
- Let sit at least 45 minutes
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease muffin tin or use liners and fill cups completely (does not rise very much).
- Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Tops will be light brown.

Nutrition info per muffin: Cal: 183 Fat: 4.3 g Carbs: 33g Protein: 6g
(As a comparison, Starbucks bran muffins, which are bigger, have 420 cal, 19 grams of fat, and 58 carbs)