Oprah’s Oatmeal Muffins and The Zero Fat Muffin Experiment by Cleo Coyle



Like Cher and Martha, Oprah has achieved that rare thing—global one-name recognition. Her public battle of the bulge alone should be enshrined in the broadcast hall of fame. First her weight was up then down; then way up and down again. Do you remember any of that?


For Oprah, the public yo-yoing began with a crash, liquid diet. After four months on the Optifast program, she finally fit into her size 10 Calvin Klein jeans and walked onto the set of her talk show pulling a red wagon filled with the equivalent of the 67 pounds of fat she’d lost.

Then it happened. The horror! The horror! The burger! She went off her diet one day, eating a single bacon, avocado cheeseburger. (I can’t believe I still remember that.)

If I correctly recall Oprah's foodie fall from grace, she ate that burger and went absolutely crazy. She couldn’t stop eating and chomped her way right back up again, gaining back all the red wagon weight and more.

Disgusted and frustrated, she turned to health professionals for advice, who explained to her that crash dieting doesn’t work. It destroys the metabolism, setting the dieter up for the kind of yo-yoing weight loss and gain that Oprah had experienced. (Hey, listen, I’ve gone up and down about the same thirty pounds all my life, so I can honestly say: “I feel you, Sister!”)

Oprah forced herself to learn about her body and nutrition, eating right and exercising. Instead of a crash diet, she changed her way of eating and living, and a wonderful thing happened: She pulled her viewers along for this new ride of living and learning.

During this period, she endorsed a cookbook by her personal chef, Rosie Daley, whom she’d hired away from a spa. The front flap of the cookbook says Oprah loves these recipes because they helped her lose weight and feel good. I noticed it on my bookshelf the other day. I haven’t looked at it in years, and I pulled it down.

Cleo Coyle, lover of
muffins, fan of Oprah,
and author of The
Coffeehouse Mysteries

Now I enjoy cooking all kinds of recipes. Last week I shared a classic (and decadent) French dessert, Chocolate Pots de Crème. Click here for a PDF of the recipe if you missed that one.

I also have fun developing and adapting healthier recipes, too. Among my favorite treats to enjoy with a cup of coffee are my Healthier Oatmeal Cookies with maple glaze. Get the PDF of that recipe by clicking here. In the PDF, I explain one reason why whole grains are so good for us and so good at helping us take off weight.

I really enjoy the taste of rolled oats, so I paged through the Oprah cookbook looking for that ingredient, and low and behold, Oprah had a favorite oatmeal muffin recipe.

I couldn’t believe this recipe contained no butter or oil, not one milligram. That seemed a little extreme. I mean, I'm all for healthy recipes, but if they don't satisfy you on a foodie enjoyment level, then I doubt they'll help you in the long run.

Even though I was wary of this recipe, I gave it a quick try. So here you go, my zero-fat muffin experiment for your edification. (Scroll down to my "report" below to see what I thought of it.)

OPRAH'S
OATMEAL MUFFINS


Adapted from In the Kitchen with Rosie: Opraph's Favorite Recipes with notes from Cleo Coyle

Makes 12 standard muffins
(or 24 mini muffins)

128 calories per standard muffin and only 2.5 grams of fat 

Ingredients

Light vegetable oil cooking spray
2 large egg white (I used extra large, all I had on hand)
1/3 cup maple syrup (do not substitute “pancake” syrup)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (juice form about 1-1/2 medium oranges)
1 cup skim milk (I used 1% low fat)
1 tablespoon orange zest (grated rind of one medium orange)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (I increased to ¼ teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (I eliminated because allspice carries that flavor note)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
1-1/2 cups rolled oats (old fashioned, not quick cooking)
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white flour, see my end notes on this switch)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup dried cranberries (I substituted raisins, doubled the amount, and soaked them in water then drained them for extra plumpness)
¼ cup chopped pecans (I had no nuts on hand and didn’t add any nuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Step 1 - The Oprah recipe says to “spray the tins 3 times with vegetable oil” and I know why. With no fat in this recipe (no butter or oil), these muffins will want to stick like crazy to your pan, hence the liberal use of non-stick spray. I decided to make mine with paper liners.


Step 2 – Whisk egg whites in a mixing bowl until frothy. Whisk in pure maple syrup, orange juice, and milk. Add in the orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Whisk to blend. Switch to a spoon or spatula and stir in your rolled oats, flour, and raisins (or cranberries and nuts).

Step 3 – Fill your muffin cups about 2/3rds full. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the muffins are firm in the center. If baking mini-muffins, they should be done in about 12 minutes.

CLEO'S MUFFIN REPORT:

FLAVOR – HIT! The flavors of maple, orange, and spices with the raisins tasted delicious. Once I correct the texture (see below), this promises to be a satisfying breakfast or coffee break muffin, especially with pecans or walnuts added next time around.

TEXTURE – MISS. My results looked very pretty indeed but the texture was way off what it should have been – rubbery instead of tender and crumbly. Yes, I know! Whole wheat flour soaks up more liquid than white, and my batter was in fact too liquid before it went into the oven, but I wanted to try a 1:1 ratio just to see what I’d get. Next time I’ll use the whole wheat flour or (maybe) split the whole wheat and white flour and increase the white flour a bit. My aim here is to make a tasty, low fat oatmeal muffin -- oatmeal and whole wheat together might be very healthy indeed but tasty? I don't know. I'm going to continue experimenting with further adaptations. (I'll keep you posted. )

STICK FACTOR – MISS. I used two different paper liners, some with a slight waxed coating and some without. The liners without that slippery waxed coating were a disaster. Some of the muffin actually stuck to the paper! Now this could have been my fault, having used white instead of whole wheat flour, but I suspect that's why the Oprah recipe did not give you an option of using paper liners at all but instead insisted on spraying the tins with non-stick spray 3 times! I think I'll solve this problem by using foil liners next time and spraying them with non-stick spray once.

So there you go, a no-fat muffin, an inspiring story and a basic healthy muffin recipe to play with yourself.

Honestly, until I get this recipe right, I'll continue to stick with my Healthier Oatmeal Cookies (with or without the maple glaze)!

Click here for that recipe PDF and...

Eat with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle, author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

To get more of my recipes, win free coffee,

or find out more about my books, visit me
 at my *virtual* coffeehouse:

CoffeehouseMystery.com

 

Click on the book covers above
to learn more about Cleo's culinary mysteries.



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A final, quick note for our mystery reading fans.
The latest Mystery Readers Journal with the theme Hobbies, Crafts, and Special Interests is now available.

The issue, edited by Mystery Fanfare's Janet Rudolph, includes many mystery authors who have guest posted for us over the past year. You can check out the contents by clicking here, which will also give you info on how to purchase a copy (hard or electronic) for yourself.

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Joyeux Noel

Contest Update...

Before I get started, I'd like to remind everyone that we will be announcing the newest winner in our Williams-Sonoma gift card contest very soon. Carol won the first week, and Rebecca won the second week. Who will be our lucky reader this week? Stay tuned to find out! ;-) And don't forget to leave a comment below (or via e-mail if the comment-leaving doesn't work) to be entered into this week's drawing for a $25 Williams-Sonoma Gift Card!

Best of luck!



In a bit of a departure from the norm here, rather than share a recipe with you, I'd like to share an experience and ask for your help.

The "headline" for this post is

Joyeux Noel

As you know, this is French for Merry Christmas. No, I'm not starting my cookie baking early ;-) But I am celebrating.

After being married for ::ahem:: years, gift-giving becomes difficult. What do you give your spouse during traditional celebrations that you haven't already given a hundred times? My husband put it succinctly when he told me: "You're so hard to buy for because you're not much of a flower or jewelry girl. You're a food girl." He's totally right. Take me out for a stellar dinner, and I'm in heaven. I love going out. And although the food is a major consideration, it's all about the experience.


So, for Christmas 2008 we decided to forgo the same-old, same-old, and decided that our gift to one another would be to try out a *new* restaurant every month. We have our favorites, of course (stories for another time), but we intended to stretch ourselves and seek out places we never knew existed. We alternate months and my husband picked his six choices right at the start. I decided to choose my six one at a time. This has been loads of fun! Every month we find ourselves at a brand new restaurant, clinking our glasses together and wishing each other a Merry Christmas.

This past Saturday, August 15th, was my month and after seeing Julie and Julia during the week, I was inspired to seek out French cuisine.


Marche restaurant is on Randolph Street in an area of Chicago known as the West Loop. Back when I was going to college in Chicago, I would have taken great pains to avoid this area but now I can't wait to get back there to try out some of the other nifty places I spotted. The neighborhood is vibrant, exciting, and up-and-coming, helped in no small part, I'm sure, by the presence of Oprah's Harpo studios, just a few steps away.

This is the view looking east on Randolph.

The restaurant is spacious and airy. Upside-down umbrellas (parapluie) dot the tall ceiling, while masks, mirrors, and Harlequin characters decorate the walls. The tables are on several different levels and the service is cheerful and attentive. But wow - the food. We split two appetizers: their "beautiful soup of the day," a tomato-gorgonzola-olive oil-basil-chive concoction which took my breath away; and a Voul-au-vent des Champignons - a puff pastry with mushrooms. "What is that flavor?" I kept asking my husband. We tried to decide which of the two we liked better, but could not. This was *exquisite* food.

Next came the entrees. Having just seen Julie and Julia, I'd intended to order Boeuf Borguignone, but alas it wasn't on the menu. I opted for Coq au Vin. The chicken was very good (maybe a tad dry), but my husband's Braised pork shoulder over cabbage was beyond description. I wish I would have ordered that. Maybe next time ;-)




For dessert we shared a chocolate trio (flourless chocolate cake, orange ice cream in a crispy chocolate shell, and chocolate-raspberry mousse) and decided that -- clearly -- of the 8 restaurants we've visited so far this year, Marche is our new favorite.

That's me after dinner, taking my leftover Coq au Vin home. There was nothing left of anything else ;-)

See that contented look on my face? It masks the determination I'm now experiencing in my desire to recreate the tomato bisque and the mushroom appetizers at home.

Here's where I need your help.

I'll bet many of you out there have made one or both of these appetizers. If you have, and if you know of similar recipes, please, please share! I can tell from all the great comments and e-mails we receive that we have an amazing group of foodies out there and I hope to draw on this vast collection of knowledge.

Sure I can call the restaurant and ask. But isn't this way more fun?

I plan to start experimenting soon -- any and all help will be appreciated. If you like, leave a comment below to direct me to a link (this will enter you in our contest, natch), or just e-mail me directly at JulieHyzy (at) AOL (dot) com or via my website www.juliehyzy.com


Thanks so much!!

Julie

Julie Hyzy’s White House Chef Mystery series features State of the Onion, Hail to the Chef, and Eggsecutive Orders (coming in January). All from Berkley Prime Crime.

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