Muffins are a quick and easy breakfast food that can be adapted to be more healthy. Research has shown that most people either don't notice much difference or they accept the difference when the following recipe changes are made.

 To add fiber: Use whole-wheat pastry flour to replace half of the all-purpose flour in the recipe. This pastry flour is made from soft wheat berries and has a lighter, finer texture than regular whole-wheat flour, making it perfect for baked goods. If you use regular whole-wheat flour, substitute it for only 1/4 to 1/2 of the all-purpose flour in the recipe. Oat bran, oatmeal or 100 percent bran cereal (ground to flour in a blender) can replace up to 1/4 of the all-purpose flour. Be aware that oats impart a hearty, chewy texture, and whole-grain flours can give a very dense, dry crumb.

To reduce fat and cholesterol: Replace 1/2 cup margarine with 1/4 cup canola oil or light olive oil. Light olive oil has no detectable "olive" taste when baked with other ingredients. Another option is to substitute unsweetened applesauce or pureed bananas or prunes for up to 1/2 the oil or margarine in the recipe. Since oil is in a more liquid form than margarine or butter, you can substitute less fruit puree or canola oil (about 1/4 less) for margarine or butter.

Substitute two egg whites for one whole egg or try packaged egg substitute. Cream can be replaced with non-fat evaporated milk or fat-free half-and-half. There are many fat-free or low-fat dairy options available.

Fat gives a moist, tender crumb, so the more fat that you replace, the more the texture changes. A good rule of thumb is to replace no more than 1/3 of the original fat in the recipe.

To reduce sugar: Begin by reducing the sugar by 1/3 in a recipe. To ensure that muffins are tasty, use at least 1 tablespoon sugar per 1 cup flour. When you reduce the sugar, use extra vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg to impart a sweet flavor. Fruit purees and fruit juices can be used to replace sugar, but it is challenging to get a correct balance of liquids in the recipe.

There are some sweetener and sugar blends that are good for baking. Remember that sugar does more than just sweeten a product. It also produces a tender, moist, golden brown muffin. Removing all the sugar may produce a tough, flat, dry and gray product; therefore, replace no more than 1/2 the sugar with a sweetener.

Acesulfame potassium sweetener and sucralose sweetener are the best options for baked goods, because they are heat stable, retaining their sweetness when heated. Sunette is the brand name for acesulfame potassium, which also is found in the tabletop sweeteners, Sweet One and Swiss Sweet. Sucralose is marketed as Splenda.

To reduce salt: Unless you're making a yeast-based muffin, you can omit salt in most recipes.

Add more fruits and vegetables: Choose recipes that include fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables. Instead of making chocolate chip muffins, whip up some tasty carrot and pineapple muffins. You can even dress up ready-to-mix packaged muffins by adding chopped apples, pears or strawberries.

You also can add grated vegetables to a plain recipe. I have a friend who makes wonderful broccoli cheese muffins. She uses leftover broccoli and low fat cheese. This is a great way to get kids to eat more vegetables. These muffins can be eaten as part of a meal or as a quick, healthy snack.

Reduce the size of the muffin. Twenty years ago the standard size muffin was 1.5 ounces and contained 210 calories. Today the standard muffin weighs 4 ounces and has over 500 calories. That is a difference of 290 calories!

Instead of jumbo muffins, use smaller tins and make medium size muffins, or even better, use the mini muffin tins. If your only choice of ready-made muffins are the jumbo size, cut it in half and share to save nearly 300 calories.

Adapted from Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service

Debbie Wilburn is county extension agent in family and consumer science with the Hall County Extension. Contact: 770-535-8290.