These oat bran muffins are my favorite breakfast food. I do not like cereals so unless I eat eggs everyday there are not that many options for breakfast although I have been known to eat soups and sandwiches in the morning. The muffins are a healthy alternative to eating store bought muffins and cereals. They are also great for a mid-day snack. You can substitute the cherries or raisins with other fruits such as apples, blueberries, etc.  The bananas are used to provide a dense moist muffin as well as flavor. I usually eat two of these for breakfast with a glass of milk, and I am full until lunchtime.
Oat Bran Muffins

2 cups oat bran
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup milk (I use 1% milk)
1 egg (or ¼ cup egg substitute)
2 bananas (mash with a fork)
1 cup cherries
½ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 to 2 tsp oil or use spray oil

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix oat bran, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.   Add milk, egg, and banana.  Mix with a fork until ingredients are well incorporated. Fold in cherries, raisins, and nuts. Do not over mix. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with oil.  Fill cups with muffin batter—a heaping ¼ cup of batter should do it. Bake in oven for 20 – 25 minutes. The time will depend on your oven.  Let muffins cool at least 10 minutes before removing from muffin pan.
Tips:

• I usually measure out 1 to 2 tsp olive oil to coat the muffin pan—I use a brush to do this.  By using a brush or a paper towel you will only need about 1.5 tsp of oil for the 12 cups of the pan. You can also use spray oil.  I do not recommend using paper or foil muffin cups—from my experience the muffins will stick.
• I find that the longer you let the muffins cool, the easier they are to remove from pan. I usually take a knife and run it around the muffin to loosen the sides so they pop out easily. If you are not worried about calories, you can add more oil when greasing the muffin cups.