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Breakfast muffins

"I'm a huge fan of the breakfast muffins at my local coffee shop, but they taste too rich and sweet to be healthy. Can you suggest a homemade alternative?" Heather Rivers, Harpenden, Hertfordshire. These muffins are lower in fat than standard ones and sweetened largely with dried fruit - which doesn't make them low in calories, but does raise the fibre content.

Vegetarian

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes, plus cooling
Total time: 40 minutes, plus cooling

Makes: 12

Ingredients

300g plain wholemeal flour
50g rolled porridge oats, plus extra for decoration
3 heaped tsp baking powder
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
100g raisins
100g dried apricots, chopped
50g pecans, chopped
50g caster sugar
100ml sunflower oil
150ml natural yogurt
150ml milk
1 medium egg, beaten
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 small apples, grated
1 medium carrot (100g peeled weight), coarsely grated

To Decorate:
Sunflower and pumpkin seeds

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5. Lightly oil a non-stick muffin pan with 12 large cups (or two six-cup pans).
Combine the first nine ingredients (the dry ingredients) in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the remaining (wet) ingredients well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Spoon into the prepared pans.
Sprinkle with oats, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and bake for 20 minutes or till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then cool on a rack. Eat when still warm. You can prepare the dry and wet ingredients the night before. Combine the two in the morning and you'll have a fresh-baked breakfast.