Apple Oat Bran Muffins

I have been reading more and more on the health benefits of oat bran, and after finally finding it at a local health food store here in Umbria I decided I needed to begin adding it to our diet. Bran is actually the outer layer or husk of grains such as oat, rice and wheat, and for many years, this outer layer was simply discarded during the milling process until people learned of its health benefits. Diets high in oat bran have consistently shown great health benefits such as lower cholesterol, healthier hearts and improved intestinal health, and in fact the very popular Dukan diet strongly proposes we add oat bran to our diets to help promote weight loss. I have in the past used oat bran in hot cereals along with other grains, but I wanted to make a breakfast muffin, that would be healthy yet delicious. I love apples in muffins so added apples along with some chopped walnuts and topped my muffins with a cinnamon, sugar topping that added a nice crispy finish to the muffins.

• Diets high in oat bran, rice bran and wheat bran have consistently demonstrated great health benefits such as lower cholesterol, healthier hearts and improved intestinal health.
• Nuts are rich source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and dietary fiber.