WALLY'S FAVORITE MUFFINS

Wally, our 13-yr-old rescue Eclectus, is a very picky eater but he went absolutely crazy over this recipe from the book titled "What to Eat When You're Expecting". I first made the muffins for the people in my house but Wally liked them so much that they're now a part of his breakfast menu.

Other ingredients can be added too, like shredded carrots, greens, and other healthful foods, but the basic recipe is a pretty good start!

Linda Ciano

• 2/3 c. raisins
• 1 c. apple juice concentrate (no sugar/artificial ingredients added)
• 1/4 c. orange juice concentrate (same as above)
• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. wheat germ
• 1 1/2 c. unprocessed bran
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 c. chopped nuts
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk (I use dried buttermilk from the baking section mixed with water)
• 2 beaten egg whites
• 1/3 c. nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 tsp melted butter or margarine, cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Simmer raisins with 1/4 c. apple juice concentrate and all the orange juice concentrate, about 5 minutes (stir regularly). In a bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, bran, baking soda, nuts and cinnamon. Stir to mix. In another bowl, beat together the remaining apple juice concentrate, buttermilk (if using powder, mix powder with dry ingredients in first bowl and add appropriate amount of water to wet ingredients in this bowl), egg whites, milk and butter. Combine the dry and wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Fold in the raisin mixture. Coat muffin tins with oil or cooking spray and fill 2/3 full of muffin mix. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool and serve to your favorite Eclectus.