When I was a kid, I was always on one diet or another and frequently looked for foods that I considered to be healthy. One category of treats that I thought was on the “diet” side of eating was muffins. There was always something about the way they appeared and were marketed that made me think they were actually good for you, especially as a breakfast option
Then came the day when my mom burst my bubble, pointing out that muffins, especially the ones I loved like chocolate chip and blueberry were actually packed with sugar, fat, calories, preservatives (to extend their shelf life), and other undesirable ingredients. Not surprisingly, I cut down on eating them aside from the occasional treat.
I mean, you wouldn’t eat cake for breakfast on the regular, right? Well, neither should you eat typical muffins if you want to stay healthy.
Muthins are low in calories and a healthier alternative to “traditional” muffins.
Enter: Muthins
All these years later, I came across a brand of muffins that are actually healthy called Muthins. Mu-thins. Get it? I know, the first time I heard it, I asked for a sound check too. It is clever though.
The history of Muthins dates back to 1985 when nutritionist Leslie Beloff started a company selling low calorie muffins. In 2012, her daughter Ali Beloff updated the recipe, founded Muthins, and has been actively growing the brand. She’s an award-winning young entrepreneur with a vision.
My Commercial Bakery Visit
Ali gave me a tour of the commercial bakery where Muthins are made. It was my own personal “How It’s Made” moment! She’s an intelligent business person whose passion for what she’s doing easily came through during our discussion. She has something of an uphill battle, teaching people that muffins typically aren’t as healthy as they think while demonstrating that Muthins are a fresh alternative.
As part of my learning experience with Muthins, I had to take a tour of their commercial bakery. They passed inspection! Ha ha!
Re-discovery
Citynet Magazine’s motto is “Re-discover Your Own City” and I feel that the idea behind Muthins falls into a similar re-discovery. The gist of my conversation with Ali was that she essentially wants people to re-discover muffins, but healthy ones this time around.
All-natural Muffins
Let’s face it, the muffins at Tim Hortons are tempting and delicious. It’s just that they can be so bad for you!
In the “all natural” line of Muthins, the recipes include at decent amount of fibre, no added sugar, less than 2.5 grams of fat, and each one is around 100 calories. Since there are no preservatives, you have to eat them within a few days of being baked.
Don’t expect your Muthins to be super sweet and loaded with artificial ingredients
Don’t expect your Muthins to be super sweet and loaded with the artificial ingredients that you would get from typical store-bought muffins.
The flavours include:
- Apple-cinnamon
- Banana
- Blueberry
- Chocolate chip (Dark chocolate)
- Lemon poppy
- Carrot
- Raisin
- Pumpkin spice
Allergy Conscious & Gluten-free Muffins
Times have changed since her mom first came up with the original recipes. Ali recognized the need to account for current demand and developed a gluten-free series of Muthins. Each one is nut-free, dairy-free, has no added sugars, and is less than 150 calories.
Gluten-free options:
- Appa-Cinnamon quinoa
- Coco moka
- Mixed berry
Muthins getting labeled in the bakery. Coco Moka Muthins are gluten-free.
Where can you get them?
The Muthins brand is expanding but for the time being, you can find them in stores around Montreal such as National, Marché Tau, Health Tree, IGA (four locations), Rachele-Berry, Java U (several locations, including Trudeau International Airport), Les 5 Saisons (both locations), Mondiana, Real Bagel (Decarie location) and about 50 locations in Quebec. Muthins is expanding and will soon be available in Toronto and Ottawa.
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