Bells and whistles go off whenever I hear about anything made with bananas. I stumbled on this recipe in a little leaflet by Bob Greene, Oprah’s trainer. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was rarin’ to bake! Mind you I haven’t baked in “AT LEAST 6 MONTHS” and the thought of finding something that was a bit healthier certainly had my full attention. So without further ado, let’s get started.

Ingredients:

1 cup Fiber One original bran cereal

1 egg

¾ cup fat free (skim) milk

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup dried cranberries

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or use paper baking cups. Place cereal in resealable food storage plastic bag; seal bag and crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or crush in food processor).

When all else fails in the kitchen…use a hammer! I’m sure by now some of you are sick of hearing about all my stuff being in storage but it’s the truth! I always manage to find something to get the job done. Of course that’s my “Tom Boy Tool” hammer – works like a charm. Just had my nails and toes done in the light pink with a touch of silver for spring – will it ever get here?

In medium bowl, beat egg milk and oil with fork or wire whisk until well mixed; beat in bananas. Stir in cereal; let stand 5 minutes.

I set my little timer for 5 minutes and while the wet mixture was doing its “thing” I mixed all my dry ingredients together.

I’m Getting there

Bananas pretty much all mashed

Ding – That’s the 5 minute timer going off. Now stir in remaining (dry) ingredients except cranberries until blended. Stir in cranberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

The batter is ready for the cranberries

Divided evenly as possible

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm.

I baked these guys for an even 20 minutes.

Played with the same picture in photoshop – Couldn’t help myself as they were so much fun!

And then got a little carried away. If you feel a little blurred, not to worry, go ahead and try them, you’ll be glad you did, you can trust me!

Believe me I followed the directions to the T and had one of these guys while he was still piping hot! Very nice and moist and I really loved the surprise punch of the cranberries. I will definitely be making these again!

High Altitude (3500 – 6500 FT): No change.

Nutrition

1 Muffin: Calories 180 (Calories from Fat 40) Total Fat 4.5g (Saturated Fat 0g); Cholesterol 20mg; Sodium 200mg; Total Carbohydrate 32g (Dietary Fiber 3g) Protein 3g

%Daily Value: Vitamin A 4%; Vitamin C 2%; Calcium 10%; Iron 10%

Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Other Carbohydrate, 1 Fat

Carbohydrate Choices: 2

Weight Watcher Points: 3