don't let me catch you with this in your kitchen!

each of you raise your right hand and say - "after reading this post, i promise the skinny bovine that i will rid myself of any and all vegetable oil in my kitchen! yuck!!!"

you promised, now here are the reasons why:

• it has no redeeming nutrional value. it is terrible for you. we all know oil has fat, but vegetable oil has all of the wrong kind of fat.
• you can use olive oil instead for cooking. despite the extra cost, your arteries will thank you later.
• you can use substitutes in baking too. does your brownie, cake or muffin recipe call for 1 cup of oil? be honest with yourself - that is gross. use yogurt or applesauce instead. and yes, your baked goods will still turn out moist and delicious!! if you're one of those who can "taste" applesauce and are opposed to it in baked goods, try yogurt and you won't taste it! i usually use plain, non-fat yogurt, but you could also use vanilla yogurt and use a bit less sugar in your recipe.

i've been on a muffin kick lately - or i guess i should say my husband is on one. my freezer is full of muffins he can take to school with him to snack on. so, here's a yummy one to try - its one of my favorites because it sneaks in a few veggies too!

zucchini carrot muffins

24 muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup oat flour (put oats in the blender and voila! oat flour!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup white sugar (or brown or 1/2 brown, 1/2 white - whatever you prefer!)
3/4 cup honey (if honey is a budget buster right now, use more brown sugar instead)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees. lightly grease 24 muffin cups.
2. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. in a separate bowl, beat together eggs, applesauce, yogurt, sugar, honey, and vanilla. mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture. fold in the zucchini and carrots. scoop into the prepared muffin cups.
3. bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

zucchini carrot muffins modified from "zucchini yogurt multigrain muffins" from allrecipes.com