6 Week Bran Muffins....with Chia Seeds

Have you read about or tried chia seeds?

They are the latest super food... an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and fiber.
They look like small, greyish seeds...bigger than poppy seeds.

I picked up a bag at Costco and I have been adding them to our muffins and oatmeal.

I even adapted my 6 week bran muffin to include some chia seeds.

I have been making this bran muffin recipe for many years...it's my favourite bran muffin recipe....moist & tasty.
{I am always so disappointed when I buy a bran muffin and it's dry and tastes like sawdust. Yuck!}

 This recipe makes between 5 and 6 dozen muffins and can be kept in the fridge for up to 6 weeks and used as needed.

{It has never been around my house for 6 weeks...more like 3 weeks!}

Sometimes I bake 6 muffins. Sometimes 12.

It works great for packed lunches and snacks, as well as breakfast and bedtime snacks.

One of my favourite breakfasts is a bran muffin fresh from the oven, a soft boiled egg and some fresh fruit.

So if you are looking for a high fiber muffin with nutritious ingredients...this may work for your family.
And don't worry...no one will taste the chia seeds and say, "Eww! Mom! What is in these?"
The chia seeds blend in perfectly with all the other ingredients.

It takes only 15 minutes to mix up and put in the fridge.

And it is so nice to have this in the fridge so a quick batch of muffins can be baked at any time!

6 Week Bran Muffins with Chia Seeds

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups white flour

1/2 cup wheat germ {optional}

3/4 cup chia seeds

5 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir dry ingredients together in large bowl

.{I have a large tupperware bowl with a cover that I love for this recipe} 

Set aside.

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup shortening

{ I use 100% lard, and not hydrogenated vegetable shortening, although next time I will try coconut oil as my readers have suggested!}

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs.

1 quart buttermilk.

{If you don't have buttermilk on hand, add a few tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar to equal amount of milk and use as a substitute. I have done this many times!}

In mixer or with hand mixer, cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs...one at a time.

Mix well.

Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk to wet ingredients.

Your mixture will look like this:

Pour mixture into large bowl.

Add 6 cups of all-bran cereal and pour 2 cups hot water over top.

Mix well.

Cover tightly.

Label and put in the fridge.

After the mix sits in the fridge for a day or so...it will thicken and look like this:

And after the mix is scooped and baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, the result will be these:

I hope you enjoy these wonderful muffins!

They are so good with a little fruit.

They are a favourite of mine.

And the convenience of having a large quantity of the batter around to bake at anytime is awesome!

This post is linked to these terrific parties: