Name: Red River, Bran & Rolled Oats Muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 ¾ cup boiling water; ¾ cup Red River Cereal; ¾ cup natural bran (Wheat or Oat); 2 ½ cups flour (whole wheat or spelt); 1/2 dry oats [instant or 1 minute oats]; 2 ½ tsp. baking soda; 1/3 cup avocado (light olive or coconut oil); 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed); 2 eggs; 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or use 1 1/2 --cups milk & 1 tsp. vinegar, or plain kefir); 1 ½ cups raisins (chopped dates, goji or dried cranberries [or combination of these]); 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

*Please note, I have no information on Red River Cereal, its production, where it can be purchased or where to buy the ingredients to make your own recipe (cracked wheat and cracked rye).

Copy cat recipe

2 Tablespoons brown flax seeds
2 Tablespoons golden flax seeds
2 cups cracked wheat
2 cups rye meal

Ever heard of Red River Cereal?

Red River Cereal is a hearty cereal blend of cracked rye, cracked wheat, and both whole and cracked flaxseeds which are cooked into a porridge, or hot cereal.

Red River Cereal is quintessentially Canadian; like oatmeal, moms would tell their kids that this hot cereal would ‘stick to your ribs’ and help keep you warm on a cold winter’s day.

But it’s not just for hot cereals, there are lots of different Red River Cereal recipes including muffins and quick bread.

Wheat bran

Wheat bran is one of three layers of the wheat kernel. A wheat kernel is made up of three parts: the bran, endosperm, and germ.

The bran is the hard outer layer of the wheat kernel, which is jam-packed with various nutrients and fiber.

It’s stripped away during the milling process, and some people may consider it nothing more than a byproduct. Yet, it’s rich in many plant compounds, phenolic compounds, minerals and an excellent source of fiber.

Wheat bran nutrition

One-cup of wheat bran has:

125 calories
37 g carbohydrate
25 g fiber
- 12 g net carbs
9 g protein
45 mcg folate
42 mg calcium
354 mg magnesium
588 mg phosphorus
686 mg potassium
4.2 mg zinc
45 mcg selenium

Red River Cereal

As mentioned above, Red River Cereal is a dense, fiber-rich cereal that’s typically made into hot cereal. It can be used in recipes such as this muffin recipe that makes for a muffin that’s rich in minerals, protein, and prebiotic fiber.

Buttermilk

Buttermilk is a fermented dairy product. Most modern buttermilk is cultured, meaning that beneficial bacteria have been added to it.

Traditional buttermilk is the liquid leftover after whole milk has been churned into butter. Today, however, buttermilk is regular pasteurized and homogenized milk with added lactic-acid-producing bacteria cultures which may include Lactococcus lactis or Lactobacillus bulgaricus.

Lactic acid increases the acidity of the buttermilk and prevents unwanted bacterial growth, which extends its shelf life. It also gives buttermilk its slightly sour taste, which is a result of the bacteria fermenting lactose, the primary sugar in milk

Buttermilk is thicker than regular milk and gives a moister product when used in baking.

Buttermilk nutrition

Buttermilk is no different than regular milk when it comes to milk’s foundational nutritional profile.

One-cup of 1% fat buttermilk has:

100 calories
12 g carb
2.2 g fat
8 g protein
64 IU vitamin A
0.4 mg riboflavin (vitamin B2)
0.5 mcg vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
40 mg choline
285 mg calcium
218 mg phosphorus
370 mg potassium
257 mg sodium

This recipe has 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk which really increases the nutrient-density of these muffins, especially from a high-quality protein point of view.

Why not give these Red River Cereal muffins a go this weekend?