Kathy: Week 7

Current Weight: 144
Last Week's Weight: 146

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 7 pounds

Today's BMI: 25.51 (still "overweight")

Yippee!! Two more pounds gone!

I know you've been waiting for it...the photos...so here we go!

Here I am back at Week 1.

Yes...it was time for new year's resolution or two!

And here I am at
Week 7!

Four workouts a week is revving up my weight loss!

One pound at a time, I'm getting healthier and (just a little bit) skinnier!
I'll have a new recipe for you in just a minute, but before I do that, I want to point out a new feature of The Skinny.  


Ta da!! We now have a Skinny Recipe Index in the left-hand column. I love the recipes we're sharing here, and sometimes it's hard to scroll down and find the one I want...or I don't even remember that it's in there. I'll keep the index updated as our authors share new recipes. 

I'm excited to share my family's favorite bran muffin recipe with you today! Now before you turn up your nose at bran muffins, you have to know that...
1) these little guys are packed with beautiful fiber and...
2) they are delicious! My family has loved them for years. They are light, fluffy, and moist, not dry and heavy and nasty like store-bought bran muffins. (And they have more fiber than store-bought bran muffins, too!)

There are a couple of tricks to making them turn out so yummy, so I've made a little tutorial.

First of all, go add these three ingredients to your shopping list, if you don't already have them in the cupboard. If your grocery store has a bulk section, the whole wheat flour and wheat bran are much cheaper to buy in bulk.

whole wheat flour

wheat bran

molasses

Kathy's Bran Muffins

Oven 350

120 calories/muffin

3.5 grams fiber/muffin
Yield: 18 muffins

Ingredients

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 cups milk (nonfat or 1%)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups wheat bran

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoons soda

1/2 cup molasses

3 tablespoons applesauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then you will make the muffins in 3 easy steps.

Step 1: Sour the milk

You have to make the milk sour so the muffins will rise. The sour milk will react with the baking soda.

Measure 2 tablespoons vinegar into the bottom of a 4-cup measuring cup. Then add milk to make 2 cups. 

Give it a little stir and then set the milk mixture aside for 8-10 minutes.

Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients
Measure and combine the whole wheat flour, wheat bran, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Stir them up so everything is evenly mixed.

Step 3: Finish the wet ingredients
Add the molasses and applesauce to the sour milk (after about 8 minutes of souring time) and stir them all together.

Make sure the molasses isn't stuck on the bottom of the milk, and then add all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir gently until all dry ingredients are evenly moistened. (The batter will be quite wet.)

Spoon into 18 muffin cups. No papers are needed, but I do like to spray the bottom of the muffin cups very lightly with Pam. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. They are so delicious right out of the oven! They are good as leftovers, too - just pop one in the microwave for 20 seconds.

Hey! It's almost Valentines Day! What will you be doing for the people you love, and how will you handle the chocolatey aspects of the event? 

(Have just a bite? Indulge? Make your own healthy yummy treats? Ignore the whole thing?)

I think I'll make some flan--my hubby's favorite dessert--it's low-calorie if I make it with skim milk.

I hope you have a lovely day, wherever you are!