I got all the ingredients for this recipe which I found on the Internet, but I've no idea how much an American cup size is in ounces or grams. I've looked on the Internet but there are so many amounts listed on various sites that give a different answer. Also, certain products weigh heavier than others, so a cup of flour is a different weight in ounces to a cup of rice for instance. Does anyone know if there is a definitive answer? Anyway here's the recipe, if anyone tries it before me, let me know hat they're like. They're free of sugar and fat, except what's in the fruit and other ingredients. I would imagine they'd be quite filling too.

Banana-Oat Powerhouse Muffins
 
Source: Midwest Living

Makes 12 muffins
Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 20 minutes
 

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
2  large beaten eggs
1  cup mashed ripe bananas (2 large or 3 medium)
2/3  cup fat-free (skim) milk
1  cup rolled oats
3/4  cup whole wheat flour
1/2  cup oat bran
1-1/2  teaspoons baking powder
3/4  teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4  teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8  teaspoon ground cloves
1/2  cup raisins
 
Directions

Lightly coat twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray; set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together eggs, mashed bananas, and milk.
In another bowl, stir together oats, whole-wheat flour, oat bran, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir in raisins. Make a well in the center.
Add banana mixture to the dry ingredients all at once. Stir until just moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup almost full.
Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Cool in the muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from the muffin cups; serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.

Nutrition facts per serving:
calories: 126
total fat: 2g
cholesterol: 37mg
sodium: 65mg
carbohydrate: 25g
fiber: 3g

This recipe sounds really good - you could add a few seeds as well, eg sunflower, pumpkin, ....

I'm not sure off the top of my head about the 'cup' size but I'll see if I can find out.

I bake muffins similar to this, I don't measure or weigh the ingredients, but if you are unsure of the 'cup' size just use it as a guide to the ratio,

ie: if you used 25g or 2oz of raisins you'd double it for the oats and bananas, much like the 'half fat to flour' cake recipes.

tip; If you substitute the bananas for berries, then crush them a bit first or they 'explode' or sink when cooking - as I discovered.

I actually made Nigella's banana muffins the other day which I'm sure can't be bad (surprising, given her love for lard). For a batch of 12 it require 2-3 bananas, 30g butter (I used a lower fat equivalent) some flour and a bit of honey for sweetness. Adding oats and seeds would definitely be a great addition.

Andrew - I have a measuring jug in my cupboard which lists the cup translations... (pauses; to fetch it).

OK. 1 cup seems to be 1/2 pint in volume terms.
2 cups = 1 pint
2/3 cup would then be 2/3 of 1/2 pint.

1 cup also measures off at 8oz...

I bought some cup measures from a kitchen shop, which I have to say I like, but then, I have an aversion to weighing things...

Hope it helps!

Thanks for this Julia, I always feel if I don't follow the recipe things won't turn out as well. I suppose it's all trial and error, that's how they were created in the first place. Even the cup measures you buy can be confusing, I mean, is it a heaped one or level measurement?

I made a batch of these. I made a few substitutions, ground mixed spice instead of the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, unsweetened soya milk instead of skimmed, bicarbonate of soda instead of baking powder and dried cranberries instead of raisins. They turned out very nice, and are filling too. I made the mistake of using muffin cake cases. I didn't need to, I was supposed to just spray the muffin tin with spray oil, otherwise you get alot of the muffin wasted as it sticks to the cases.

Watch out American and UK cups are different - the American being smaller.

1 US cup = 3/4 UK cup

If you don't have any measuring cups (which you fill so level not heaped up), fill a measuring jug with the ingredient to the level below:
1 US cup = 220 ml = 7.5 fl.oz or 3/8th pint
1 UK cup = 290 ml = 10 fl.oz or 1/2 pint

They sound absolutely delicous Andrew. How about adding some sunflower seeds as well to give it a bit more texture?

Yes, seeds would be a good idea, I suppose you could experiment with lots of variations, and you have a better idea of what's going in them as opposed to the ones you buy.

Yes, you've inspired me now to try and make some in the next few days. I'll freeze them and can put them in the kids' lunchboxes. I've got a really good cookery book which I got in aid of the British Heart Foundation and that's got some fab recipes in it too. Must put some on here when I get the chance.

Started to try out some of these recipes - thanks for posting this one Andrew.

Tried this recipe last night and it was semi successful! I substituted quite a few things as made them on the spur of the moment. Well the mixture looked a bit too runny as it went in the muffin tray and sure enough they were still a bit gooey after over 30 mins in the oven. On the plus side they made really yummy little puddings instead with a slightly cake edge and they were lovely warm with some Total 0% and a few fresh raspberries.

If I'd tried these almost 3 weeks ago I would have really missed the sugar but because I've cut the sugar during that time I am really enjoying them. I subbed bananas (they are in the highest sugar bracket for fruit) and used peaches and raspberries. This may be why they turned into puddings but that's ok!

I am desperate to have some lowfat low sugar recipies for muffins. They are my weakness. This receipe looked nice at first but I hate bananas'.
Any ideas?

I can't stand bananas either - can you actually taste them in this recipe? Otherwise it looks really nice and healthy!

I posted loads of sugar-free recipes somewhere but I can't remember where - it was when Simone went sugar-free and needed cookies. Will try and find it and bring it back to the top

I don't really think the taste of the bananas is too pronounced. You could always add alittle more mixed spice. Prune puree would be one idea for a substitute. There's a while thread devoted to it somehwere on here. You do need some sweetness otherwise they will just be too bland. Think of it as you're eating something with healthy natural sugar and hardly any fat in. Mashed tinned pears or fresh might be worth a try.

I made them and considering that I don't actually like bananas, I actually quite liked these - only thing is I made them far too large which meant they were very high in calories, so I ended up giving them away. I would be tempted to make them again though as they are a palatable way for me to eat bananas which are very good for you.