Clean Eating Cranberry Oat Bran Muffins Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Are oat bran muffins good for you? ›

Despite oat bran itself being super healthy, traditional oat bran muffins aren't. They're typically loaded with lots of sugar (a mix of brown sugar and white sugar) and vegetable oil.

Bran may offer several health benefits, including improving digestive health and reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. You can include more bran in your diet and increase your daily fiber intake by sprinkling it on muffins, smoothies, casseroles, and hot cereal.

Bran Muffins

Though the bran is likely never to blame in the muffin, the high amount of sugar and canola oil is. In fact, the nutrition-fact panel of a muffin (even a bran muffin) can be 400 to 500 calories, include 40-plus grams of sugar, and show that a muffin is usually worse for you than a chocolate chip cookie.

Baking with Oat Bran

Incorporating oat bran into your favorite treat will add a tasty, chewy and unique texture to the recipe while also boosting the number of vitamins and minerals it offers. From muffins to oat bran bread, the many baking recipes that use oat bran are endless.

When taken by mouth: Oat bran and whole oats are likely safe for most people when eaten in foods. Oats can cause gas and bloating. To minimize side effects, start with a low dose and increase slowly to the desired amount. Your body will get used to oat bran and the side effects will likely go away.

But that doesn't make bran muffins healthy. Most of the muffins you buy in stores are high in sugar and fat, more like cupcakes than old fashioned muffins. Bran or other muffins are okay as an occasional treat, but not good as a regular part of a healthy diet.

Foods that help ease constipation

Consider adding some the following fibre-rich foods to your diet to help ease constipation: High fibre cereals such as: bran flakes, Weetabix, porridge, muesli and shredded wheat. Whole grains. Try to avoid stodgy foods such as white bread.

Therefore, adding wheat bran to your daily diet can increase your overall fiber intake to help prevent heart disease. As a good source of fiber, wheat bran may help lower total cholesterol and triglycerides, which may decrease your risk of heart disease.

Vitamin Content. Which type of bran is more vitamin-rich is a bit of a toss-up, with wheat bran providing more niacin, riboflavin and vitamin B-6 and oat bran containing more thiamine, pantothenic acid and folate. Neither is a particularly good source of vitamins A, B-12, C, E or K.

Foods high in soluble fiber — such as oat bran — may help control blood sugar levels. Soluble fiber like beta-glucan helps slow the digestion and absorption of carbs through your digestive tract, stabilizing blood sugar levels ( 18 ).

Does bran spike blood sugar? ›

Refined grains, like those found in corn flakes, puffed rice, and even bran flakes and instant oatmeal, are low in fiber and have a high GI and may cause substantial fluctuations in blood glucose levels.

Here's the problem with the bran muffin: Although bran can help lower LDL cholesterol, the butter, sugar and eggs aren't doing your LDL levels any favors. While this bran muffin may not raise your cholesterol, it certainly won't help you lower it. And lowering harmful cholesterol levels is what most of us need to do.

When comparing the nutritional value of oat bran vs. oatmeal, you'll find that these two breakfast cereals are pretty similar. Both cereals are excellent options when searching for a healthy addition to your diet. However, the oat bran nutrition profile is slightly better than oatmeal.

One to two tablespoons per day is fine, and in any case, no more than three tablespoons per day. Two tablespoons, or approximately 25 g, provide 4 g of total fiber , or 15% of our recommended daily allowance, including 2 g of beta-glucan fiber. If you're not used to it, start with small amounts.

While it has similar amounts of carbs and fat as regular oatmeal, oat bran boasts more protein and fiber — and fewer calories. It is especially high in beta-glucan, a powerful type of soluble fiber (1, 2 , 3 ). In addition, oat bran provides small amounts of folate, vitamin B6, niacin, and calcium.

Incorporating oatmeal into muffins makes for a heart-healthy option that can aid in digestion, provide long-lasting energy, and help maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Culinary Versatility Oatmeal muffins are incredibly versatile, lending themselves to various flavors and ingredients.

Homemade Oat Bran Muffins (1 muffin) contains 31g total carbs, 28.5g net carbs, 6.4g fat, 4.7g protein, and 182 calories.