I can fully admit that I’m a very particular person. Some might use the word “rigid,” but I think particular is much more apt. I like things to be a certain way. Mildly obsessive-compulsive but laid back enough to see it for what it is and joke about it. Like right now.

My taste buds and food preferences follow suit. Could they be called pet peeves? Food temperature is a big one for me. I like my cold foods cold and my hot foods hot. Yogurt that creeps upon cool instead of cold bothers me so that I put my bowl in the fridge well before I eat my yogurt. I do the same for cereal and ice cream. Hot foods get their bowls and plates warmed in the microwave. As does my coffee cup.  Hot food that creeps upon warm bothers me so that I often put my meal in the microwave halfway through eating.

All true.

Of the few things I tolerate at room temperature, baked goods top the list. And it’s with baked goods that one of my taste buds’ biggest idiosyncrasies shows itself: I like muffins but I’m not a fan of cake.

Can you say hypocrite? Because, I’m very well aware that muffins are just cake in disguise, made acceptable for breakfast because they appear healthier and less dessert-like.  Just keep nodding as the person across from you at the coffee shop starts to pull apart their carrot muffin topped with whipped cream cheese. P.S., it’s carrot cake with icing. BUT, I’m not a sheep in this flock. I prefer honest-to-goodness breakfast muffins. Bran and oat reign supreme in my muffin fantasies. Chunks of fruit, not chocolate. And always with the kind of unadorned muffin top that only Elaine Benes could so thoughtfully wax on about.

Being cake though, muffins are not always the most healthiest breakfast choice, even with top notes of wheat germ or oat bran. Fat (oil or butter, just like in cake) adds moisture, and this doesn’t always appeal to a health-conscious girl who tends to like to eat her muffins with a good dab of butter. Again, contradictions abound in my particular world.

Buttered whole-grain toast often stands in to appease my guilt, but some days, like after a really good run, I want something more. I want a big muffin. But the guilt weighs heavy.

 

 

Hello, quick bread, you sly, cakey, muffin-like treat. Quick breads and muffins are pretty much the same thing. It’s only the vehicle they’re baked in that differs. The thing about quick breads, though, is that you can slice them to fit perfectly in your toaster.  So, through chance discovery, I’ve found them to be almost superior to muffins because of this textural enhancement.

I’ve made this loaf every few weeks since Christmas and have no intentions of stopping. Totally not sweet, it’s based around a recipe from Eating Well that is a very basic oatmeal bread.  I’ve just reduced the honey and fat even more (to make up for the après-toasted butter) and added some chunks of fruit. It clocks in at about 175 calories per slice.

Two slices of this bread may seem the most benign and uninteresting breakfast to a lot of you. But for me, on those days after a good run when I deserve more than toast and want to sneak out of buying a giant muffin, it is the best breakfast ever.

 

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Quick Bread
Adapted from Eating Well and Healthy Food for Living

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour*
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 175-g package of plain, non-fat yogurt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons apple sauce**
2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup skim milk
3/4 fresh or frozen fruit (such as chopped rhubarb, blueberries, etc)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray or grease with butter.

Thoroughly stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Using a fork, beat the oats, yogurt, egg, vanilla, applesauce, butter and honey in a medium bowl until well blended. Stir in milk. Gently stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture just until thoroughly incorporated but not over mixed (excess mixing can cause toughening). Fold in fruit. Immediately scrape the batter into the pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Sprinkle with oat flakes and a little sugar if you wish.

Bake the loaf until well browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. (It’s normal for the top to crack.) Let stand in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around the loaf to loosen it and turn it out onto the rack. Let cool completely***.

*Whole-wheat pastry flour is a finer ground whole-wheat flour that I’ve found can be substituted for all-purpose flour. If you cannot find this, use 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour.

**I’ve been buying my applesauce in the baby food aisle: smaller quantity, cheaper, easier to use up.

***Once cool, I cut into 12 slices. Place wax paper between each slice and place divided loaf into a freezer bag. It’s now ready for easy defrost and the toaster.