Grandma Katie’s Oat Bran Muffins

This past weekend, our 18 year old daughter went on a road trip with friends to the Calgary Stampede. I dropped her off and anxiously watched as she and three of her friends giggled and squished into the tiniest car I have ever seen. Loaded down with unhealthy snacks (cringe) and cowgirl boots, they were excited to make their 8 hour trek through the mountains to experience a culture where they were legal to drink and go to the casino.

It’s a damned of a thing being a parent… teaching your children to be strong and independent and then having the strength to breathe and watch them as they find their wings. Every ounce of me wanted to scoop her up and take her back home to safety. I had to talk myself out of all of the dangerous scenarios my mind was creating and let her fly, knowing full well I would never forgive myself for letting her go if something terrible happened.

When I got home from dropping her off at 6 a.m., I was feeling nostalgic, perhaps longing for the good old days of diapers and the little problems of toddler life. I started to work on my blog, trying to distract my mind. It was the perfect time to go through my old recipe box, reminiscing over creations shared by family and friends in years passed. It was an opportunity for me to clear out recipes for dishes that I will never use again, and to keep some to reinvent and ‘veganize’.

I found a spicy Jambalaya recipe from a dear high school friend and University roommate who surprised me with this cream filled shrimp and chicken dinner back in 1992. It became a family favorite and a couple of years later, my brother and I made it for a group of our mom’s friends for her 50th birthday celebration. This was shortly after my dad had passed away from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Mom and I went down memory lane today as she dug out photos and even a full written recount of the menu from that night. There were cream cheese appetizers, artichokes drizzled with butter and of course, the caramel cream cheesecake recipe I made for dessert…

Some recipes just evoke a multitude of emotions don’t they? Food can awaken strong feelings and memories. Holding on to those memories through food has a lot to do with why it can be so difficult to let go of those feelings that bind us to our past, making it difficult to become more plant-based. I do feel very strongly however, that taking that step to making positive dietary changes can have a huge effect on how many birthdays we will celebrate. Oh if we could only turn back time…

I am still determined to recreate a plant-based version of that Jambalaya one day! Here is to creating new memories in a kinder, healthier manner. I will let you know when I do.

While going through my recipe box, I also came a across a recipe from 20 years ago from my grandma Katie who lived in a tiny log cabin handbuilt by she and my grandfather in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. I loved her to bits and we used to spend as much time as possible visiting her and soaking up the simple goodness of her life. I remember her serving us these muffins when we would come visit her in Arundel, a tiny village near St. Jovite. Sadly, her home, and everything they built within it is now owned by someone else. She passed away at the age of 92 and was of sound mind and body and such an inspiration to all who knew her. She kept herself in shape caring for her property and playing tennis. When we played our last tennis match, she was 83 and I was 27 and I never stood a chance.

Years ago, I used to make her Oat Bran Muffin recipe all the time. Honestly, I had kind of forgotten about them until I came across the much loved recipe card Saturday morning. It had been unused for years as it contained milk and eggs and way too much sugar and oil. I love to take a recipe and substitute all those ingredients our bodies need less of, with ones that can help heal us. So, I got busy baking breakfast muffins at 6:30 a.m.! Creating yummy food is a great distraction to thinking about teens being of drinking age at a 10 day long party in a different province! We lived in Calgary for 16 years so I know full well what goes on in those beer tents and bars!

You will notice in the photo of the Oat Bran muffins, that there are chocolaty looking pieces on top. These are cacao nibs – my new obsession. “Cacao nibs are highly nutritious, providing an impressive amount of protein, fiber, healthy fats, minerals, and plant compounds like flavonoids. Cacao nibs and other cocoa products may offer anti-inflammatory effects, boost your immune system, and protect against diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.” Jillian Kubala, MS, RD. Here is a link to the source of this information for more information on the benefit of cacao nibs.

So Tuesday came and now all is well again in the world. Our daughter returned home safe and sound from the wild wild west with a few stories to share, (many more to keep) and memories made. Our world returns to normal, we get to see her smiling face each day and spend time enjoying her company. We wait now, for the next adventure to materialize. It didn’t take long… she just informed me today, she wants to drive up to Revelstoke in a few days to hike (with bears) and ride the Pike roller-coaster with her friend. I’ll keep you posted with the recipe I work on modifying when she heads out on that trip! Sigh.

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Serves: 18 muffins Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes 20 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 3 cups oat bran
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups plant-based milk of your choice (almond, soy, cashew...)
• 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax, 6 tablespoons water mixed)
• 1/2 cup date sugar* (or other sugar of your choice)
• 1/3 cup apple sauce
• 2 tablespoons oil (olive or other oil of choice) 
• grated orange rind from half an orange
• 1/2 cup cranberries (you could use raisins or fresh blueberries)
• 1/3 cup cacao nibs

Instructions

1. Whisk together ground flax seeds and water and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together dry ingredients. 
3. In a large bowl, using a power mixer (or elbow grease), mix together all wet ingredients including cranberries.  
4. Blend dry ingredients alternately with 1 1/2 cups of plant-based milk into the wet mixture in the large bowl. 
5. Spoon into muffin tins using parchment paper cups, silicone cups or by lightly coating the muffin tin with oil.  Top with cacao nibs.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  This will make 18 muffins.  

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*  Date sugar is the best option (according to Dr. M. Greger) as it is just dried, powdered dates.  If you don't have date sugar, feel free to use any other sugar such as cane or brown.  Date sugar can be quite expensive, but I have often found it at half the price at Winners or Home Sense.