Muffins can be worse than donuts.  I saw my kids eat an entire muffin, from a store that shall not be named, at a ward campout last weekend.   The muffin in question; 610 calories and 32 grams of fat!!!  And they had no trouble eating the entire thing!  I have always loved muffins though, so I knew there could be a better way.  Sometimes the best thing for a busy morning is pre-made muffins.  But this is how we make them better.

I start with a homemade master mix, and then make different types of muffins with it.   Sometimes we’ll freeze the muffins and set out the night before for easy, mess free, mornings.  Today I made Almond-Poppy Seed muffins.  Very tasty. We have tons of summer squash, so I also pureed some of that and added it.  You can also use applesauce or any other puree you may have on hand. I only used 1/4 cup of it, so I froze the rest of the puree for next time.  Cereal boy said he loved the taste.  Flip-flopper however was just in a bad mood, so she picked out all the sliced almonds from her muffin while grumbling that she hates nuts that she can see, but still ate the rest. The best part; Our muffins clocked in at 150 calories and 4.5 grams of fat.

Adding the almonds to the muffins helped us get in our good fat for the day. They are a great thing to add to your food storage. They will last 6 months in the fridge, and 1 year in the freezer. Every Christmas we buy pounds and pounds of almonds and make Cinnamon Almonds for neighbors and friends.  And the flip-flopper eats more of those almonds than the rest of the family combined.  We also like almonds as

• Crushed then roll chicken in it for a nutty crust
• in trail mix
• Added to oatmeal
• Added to salads