In our house muffins hold a grand place of honor - in the hands of the toddlers. These 'travel friendly' little cakes are, in my opinion, the perfect food; especially for little kids. Muffins are just the right size for little hands and little mouths as well. During the warm months, I can give a kid a muffin from the back door and they run gleefully across the yard with snack in hand. Healthy, hearty and delicious, muffins are a meal in one.

Muffins, generally speaking, come in two types - American and English. My favorite muffins to bake and serve are bread-like textured American muffins. The bumpy muffin tops are great on their own, but bake a fruit-filled muffin recipe, and you've created a masterpiece. One word of caution on baking muffins: do not over mix or you'll have a tough muffin with holes in the middle. Stir about 10 strokes and your muffins will be fine. Not that a hungry little kid is going to notice however!

If you're concerned with feeding your family healthy muffins, and who isn't of course, there are some wonderful choices in recipes. Low fat versions are good for diet conscious parents as well.

Here are a couple of healthy and delicious muffin recipes for you to try.

Applesauce Oat Muffins

1-1/2 cups oats

1-1/4 cs flour

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 c applesauce

1 egg

1/2 c milk

5 tbsp oil

1/2 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Add applesauce, milk, brown sugar, egg, oil. Mix just until moist, about 10 strokes, do not over mix. Put in muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake 20 minutes or until passes toothpick test.

Raisin and Pumpkin Muffins

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup Splenda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup can pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

5 tbsp melted butter

1 egg beaten

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400. Mix dry ingredients together. Add milk, pumpkin, vanilla, butter and egg, stirring gently 2 times. Add raisins, and stir just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and bake 18-20 minutes or until passes toothpick test.

Mix up a quick batch of muffins, and watch the crowd come sniffing around to see what's baking! Muffins are best eaten right after they've cooled, but also freeze well and can be heated in the microwave, making them great for family meal planning. Give a kid a muffin today and watch him smile!