So, my dad turned me on to a new snack…. Zen Bakery Fiber Cakes. Horrible name for a delicious, healthy, bran muffin. They’re small, compared to “normal” muffins, but they’re very satisfying.

I’d been eating two a day, one for breakfast and one for a snack later in the day. They’re kind of expensive, though. Almost $6 for a package of 6 cakes. I figured that I could probably make some at home, and save myself some money.

First problem: I couldn’t figure out for the life of me how they managed to get 13 grams of fiber into those little cakes. Based on their ingredient list (bran, water, white grape, whole wheat flour, blueberries, bicarbonate and salt), it just didn’t seem possible. No matter what the proportions, there just isn’t THAT much fiber in bran.

So, I thought… what about a fiber supplement? You know, the powder that dissolves in water that you see advertised on TV? I’ve used it before to add some extra fiber to my diet by mixing it into yogurt and soup. It really is tasteless and doesn’t change the consistency of the food. So, I gave it a try.

On my first attempt, I ended up with a good muffin. Definitely on par with the Zen Bakery ones. But I thought I could do better.

On my second attempt: OH MY GOD!! They were incredible. So, I share with you all my creation.

Smart Snacker Raspberry Fiber Cakes

Dry Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups wheat bran
• .5 cup buckwheat flour
• 5 tbsp soy protein
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tsp Splenda brown sugar mix

Wet Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup water
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 4 tbsp sugar free Torani syrup, raspberry flavor
• 1.5 cup frozen raspberries, crushed
• 12 tsp fiber supplement (yes, not a wet ingredient, but you dissolve it in water before mixing)

Mix all the dry ingredients (except the fiber and Splenda) in a large bowl and set aside. Dissolve the fiber supplement in the water called for in the recipe and stir until completely dissolved. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients to the water/fiber mixture, except for the raspberries. Combine dry and wet ingredients and mix well. Then add in the raspberries (I crushed them so they were more evenly dispersed in the mix. But you can keep them whole, if you’d prefer.)

Scoop 1/3 cup wet mix into 12 muffin tins greased with a bit of pam. Top each muffin with 1 whole raspberry (just to make them pretty) and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of the Splenda brown sugar. (If you’re really watching your carbs, you can leave the Splenda off and save yourself 2.5 carbs and 10 calories.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes and then turn them out onto a cooling rack.

They’re absolutely delicious still warm out of the oven.

Nutrition Info (per muffin): 95 calories, 1 g fat, 23 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 4 g protein.