Do you know the muffin man?

There's a good chance if you were to happen in on our house on any given day of the week you would see a basket of muffins atop our kitchen counter.

You see, I'm a firm believer in "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." It gives you some energy to get through the day, jump starts your metabolism, and if you have a sensitive stomach like Thatboy, it helps fight off acid buildup.

The problem is, Thatboy is not really good at eating breakfast. He likes to sleep as long as humanly possible in the mornings, giving him just enough time to shower and jump in a suit before grabbing his briefcase and rushing out the door. Back when he took the train in, I would heat up some instant oatmeal for him to eat on the train. But his current position means he has to drive in most mornings, and he says he can't eat oatmeal while he drives. He's not much of a multitasker.

So on the weekends, I usually make a batch of muffins for him to grab on his way out the door in the morning. Which is perfectly fitting since this week on Eat.Live.Be., the topic is healthy snacks you can grab on your way out the door.

While muffins may not necessarily qualify as "snacks" per se, especially because I've already told you they're breakfast, the point is well taken. It's something healthy you can grab while you're on your way out the door so you don't have to worry about skipping breakfast.

Besides, I don't do a lot of cooking when it comes to my healthy snacks. I tend to use a mix of carbs and protein like:

pretzels and hummus
almond butter and apples
cheese and grapes
turkey on crackers
carrots and balsamic vinaigrette

So if it wasn't for my muffins, I wouldn't have very much to share with you!

Next week we're going to talk about portions - my favorite topic ever!

And here are a list of the other bloggers participating:

• Sarah - www.sarahscucinabella.com
• Cate - www.sweetnicks.com
  
• Maris - www.ingoodtasteblog.net
• Chris - www.melecotte.com
• Faith - www.clickblogappetit.com/
• Kristen - www.dineanddish.net
• Emily - http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/
• Jenna - http://stopdropandblog.com/
• Joanne - http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/,
• Casey - http://www.thestarnesfam.com
• Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/
• Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/
• Claire - http://cookiedoc.blogspot.com/
• Allison - http://sweetflours.blogspot.com/
• Jen - http://njepicurean.blogspot.com/
• Leslie - www.thehungryhousewife.com
• Rivki - http://www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com/
  
• Claudia from Journey of an Italian Cook
• Jennifer - http://lick-a-plate.blogspot.com/

Corn Muffins (makes 12 muffins)
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp melted shortening

1. Preheat oven to 425. Spray a muffin pan with baking spray. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the wet ingredients and blend well.
3. Pour the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes.

(For a twist, this week I added some dried cranberries to the batter. Thatboy loved it. You can experiment with some of your favorite dried fruit, or even fresh fruit. Corn blueberry muffins sound like something I could get behind.)