How can I turn my favorite muffins into a healthier treat?

Q. My family and I love muffins. What do you suggest to make them healthier?

A. Here are 6 tips for a healthier muffin:

1. Make them smaller. Reducing portion size is often the first step toward making a dish healthier. Muffins sold at supermarkets and coffee shops weigh up to 5 ounces. Aim for a 2-ounce muffin. If you use a standard muffin tin, not a jumbo one, each cup holds the right amount of batter. The hard part is adjusting expectations and appetite. We've gotten so used to large portions that what used to be a standard size now seems small.

2. Replace all-purpose white flour with other types of flour. All-purpose white flour makes for a muffin that's high in refined carbohydrates. A diet high in refined carbohydrates increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. It's easy to get a light, tasty muffin if you replace half of the all-purpose flour in a muffin recipe with whole-wheat flour. Replace much more than half and the cooking challenges increase, because the muffins get too dense.

3. Don't hold back on vegetable oil. Low-fat recipes are nutritionally misguided for a couple of reasons. First, cooks wind up using more sugar and salt to boost flavor that's lost because there's less fat. Second, the secret to a delicious and healthful muffin is to replace the "bad" fats (like the saturated fat in butter) with "good" fats, the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils. The good fats protect against heart disease and stroke.

4. Incorporate egg whites. Part of the reason muffins have a nice, fluffy texture is that they contain little pockets of air. Whipped egg whites have a protein matrix that holds air well, so they're an excellent addition to a muffin recipe.

5. Use spices and fruits to cut down on the sugar. For a muffin to be a muffin, it must have some sweetness. Additions like cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla add a layer of flavor that makes up for any loss in sweetness from cutting back on sugar. Other sugar-reducing tricks include adding more fruit or zest (the grated peel from an orange or other citrus fruit). Zest holds up well in high temperatures and imparts an appetizing citrus flavor.

6. Add nuts or a nutty flavor. Nuts are another way to add flavor and reduce the sugar and salt. They also bump up the protein and fiber content and are a source of healthy fats. Roasting nuts in the oven at a temperature of 350°F for 5 to 8 minutes before adding them to the batter intensifies their flavor. If you just want to add some nutty flavor, you can use a little bit of nut-based butter, milk, or oil.

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