The Low GI Muffin Story

About four weeks ago I made some baked chicken that was soaked in buttermilk. I bought too much buttermilk and needed to use it up. We had some lemons from Abuela's tree and I knew we had poppyseeds in the pantry, so an idea was born - I would Bake Some Muffins!

I used wholemeal flour and halved the amount of sugar the recipe called for and they turned out to be delicious! Carlos and I had them for breakfast on some days of that week, and for afternoon tea on other days. They were a perfect portion size (it's possible they're too big, but Carlos would not like to hear that).

The next week I made Apple and Oatbran muffins. Then some Apple and Prune muffins. Then some Banana and rolled oat muffins. Today I made Carrot, Orange and Walnut muffins. I have Muffin Mania!

"But estherOsita," I hear you say, "how can you eat muffins if you have to eat a low GI diet?"

Well, there are a range of alterations I have to make in order for the final product to be low - medium GI, but it IS possible.

Type of Flour

I use only wholemeal flour. I never use self-raising flour, either. I add my own baking powder and soda in place of self raising flour. I have to confess that I don't even measure when it comes to baking powder and bi-carb soda, but I guesstimate how much I should use. Sometimes I just tip it out of the tub, which can make for some "interesting" results at the end of the bake, but never anything inedible. The worst that has happened were some muffins that were more like rock-scones - dense and chewy, but still flavourful. I'm not fussed if this happens, as I don't expect a low/medium GI muffin to be soft and fluffy like a butter cake. Sure, when it turns out that way it's a bonus, but the fact is if you don't use a super refined processed white flour, your baked goods are going to be more dense, and adding things like oat bran and wheat germ make the end result rougher than what you'd find at a cafe. But at least this way you know there's no palm oil/white sugar/white flour/additives/salt/etc in your snack. You're in control. It's also really speedy to knock out a batch of 12 muffins - all it takes is 30 mins start to finish and a few dirty dishes. Use muffin tin liners to cut back on cleaning time.

Type Of Sweetener

I use the internet to hunt for recipes that have minimal amounts of sugar. I like finding recipes that use honey and fruit puree in place of sugar. I've also noticed a lot of recipes using maple syrup too. If a recipe says brown sugar, I use extra dark brown sugar and use half the amount. I don't use a chemical sugar substitute like splenda, but I've heard good things about stevia. As it is, I'm happy using honey, maple syrup, apple puree and dark brown sugar instead of white caster sugar. Fresh fruit juice is also a great sweetener - I like orange juice the best.

Nuts about Nuts (and seeds!)

Adding nuts and seeds to muffins is always a good idea - they not only lower the GI of the muffin but they provide you with vitamins and essential oils. Use crushed/chopped walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, cashew nuts, peanuts, pistachios, and sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, poppyseeds, chia seeds, etc. Seeds and nuts are known as "slow carbs" and they help to lower the Glycemic Index of the muffin by slowing down the digestion and absorption of your meal (one muffin) which in turn helps keep your blood sugar (blood glucose) levels on an even keel. 

Oats, Bran and Wheat Germ

Rolled oats, unprocessed oat bran, wheat bran and wheat germ are all things you should think about stocking in your pantry and adding to any muffin mix you make. They pretty much do the same thing as nuts and seeds - they act like a break on the digestion of the muffin and work to keep your blood glucose from spiking and then dropping really fast. Rolled oats should be the long-cooking type, not the 'minute' oats/fast cooking ones, which have a higher GI count than traditional cooking oats. Cereal bran is also a really good addition to muffins - I like to use Vogel's Ultra Bran. The best way to use it is to soak it in the milk the recipe uses for 10 mins or so.

Fruit Substitutes

You should get to know the GI values of the foods you eat, especially fruit, as sometimes a simple substitution might be all you need to turn a medium-high GI recipe to a low/medium one. Take, for example, dates. While dates are amazingly delicious, they have a ridiculously high GI value. If you substitute dates with prunes you're doing the low GI swapsies right. Prunes are a pretty yummy fruit, I'll have you know. I cut them up to add to our home-made muesli mix, and I substitute them in any recipe that calls for dates - and it WORKS.

Olive Oil instead of Butter

I've been using olive oil in my baking for about 5 years now. If a recipe calls for melted butter, simply substitute for oil. You can use other oils such as avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, and flaxseed oil if you have them on hand. Olive oil does impart its flavour on your finished product, so if you don't like the taste of olive oil, use a different oil. 

Play around with the Recipe

Muffins are a group of simple elements - dry ingredients and wet ingredients that are mixed together to form a thick batter. If you have ample raising agents your muffins should be fluffy. If you have adequate milk, egg and shortening your muffins should be moist. The more you make muffins the more confidence you will have to alter any recipe you find. Don't be sad about results that aren't perfect - it's all a part of the learning curve. 

Freezeable / Portable Snack

Freeze muffins for up to 4 months, take them to school/work frozen and enjoy as an afternoon snack.

Check out some pics of my home-made muffins (apologies for the stripey pics from my old camera)
and drop to the bottom for my Carrot, Orange and Walnut Muffin Recipe and some additional recipe links.

Lemon Poppy- seed

Apple and Oatbran

Apple and Prune

Carrot Orange, and Walnut

Carrot, Orange and Walnut (again)

Carrot, Orange and Walnut Muffins

Makes 12
Cooking time 20 mins

Ingredients

2 cups wholemeal flour
6 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons bicarbonate soda
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
4 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200C.

Grate carrots into a large bowl. Add the zest of one orange and the juice of the orange. Mix through. Add chopped walnuts and mix.

In seperatre bowl mix the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and brown sugar. Mix very well to ensure raising agents are dispersed. Add carrot and orange mix to the flour and stir until carrot is coated with flour mix.

In a measuring jug, measure milk. Add the eggs and olive oil to jug and whisk together. Pour over the carrot and flour mix and stir gently with a metal spoon until just combined. Don't over work the batter, but don't leave pockets of flour.

Line a 12 hole large muffin tray with liners. Spoon mix into muffin cups equally. top with a piece of walnut. Bake in oven for 20 mins until cake skewer comes out clean.


Some links:
Apple and Oat Muffins
Banana and Rolled Oat Muffins
Breakfast Muesli Muffins
Orange, Banana and Oatbran Muffins
Apple, Raisin and Oat Muffins