Each week on C.I.G.A.R.E, you will be treated to some of South Africa's top chefs preparing the most amazing meals for all sorts of occasions. Episode 2 might not be a chef you all know, but it’s a man who sure knows how to pull on the heart strings...it’s our very own humble presenter: Christopher Lutando! And he shows you how a real man bakes muffins...or actually, how he bakes "Lucky Muffins"!

INGREDIENTS:

• 0.5 TSP OR PINCH OF SALT
• 1 CUP OF STRAWBERRIES (OPTIONAL)
• 250g PECAN NUTS (OPTIONAL)
• 1.5 TSP BAKING POWDER
• 0.5 CUP OF PROTEIN POWDER
• 1 CUP OF COTTAGE CHEESE
• 1 CUP OF UNSWEETENED APPLESAUCE
• 0.5 CUP WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR
• 1.5 CUPS OF OATS
• 2 CUPS OF EGGE WHITES

INSTRUCTIONS:

Although most men would think that baking is a long and daunting task, Chris disproves this statement and shows us that you can bake nice, healthy treats in a matter of minutes. This is his muffins, prepared and ready to eat in under an hour.

First thing, preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Mix all your dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl, then pour contents along with egg whites, cottage cheese and apple sauce into a blender. Blend until mixture is smooth.

You may add the fruit and nuts into the blender if you want to make the task less stressful, but to get the nice chunky texture of the muffins, add the strawberries afterwards.

TIP: To give them a burst of flavour, add half of your strawberries & nuts to your mixture before blending, and the other half afterwards.

Once your mixture is ready, pour it into regular sized, stick-free muffin cups. You can find trays like this at most your leading supermarkets nowadays. If you haven't poured the pecan nuts in with the mixture, place a few on top of each one of your muffins.

Place them in the oven for more or less 40 minutes.

TIP: Set the timer on your oven for 40 minutes, giving you some time to either watch a quick half of the rugby game or tend to some chores...you have to keep the missus happy as well.

When you take them out of the oven, use a toothpick to test if they're ready. Simply stick the toothpick into the muffin, and when you pull it out, if the toothpick is dry...your muffins are ready!

See...simple and easy to bake muffins, which might just follow through on their name if done correctly!