It's winter. It's cold outside. The days are short and all I crave are warm and cozy experiences. Somehow, sitting by the fire, taking a long warm bath or baking on a Saturday morning makes the winter months more tolerable. After all, I was born on a tropical island where the thermometer never dipped below 60ºF — and that would be on a winter's night!

It is not only my body that starves for warmth, but my soul, too. Baking has always had this magical quality of lifting my spirits. It wraps me up like a luxurious blanket and fills the house with intoxicating aromas — aromas that instantly transport me to my grandmother's kitchen where, as a child clinging to her skirts, I would peek over the counter and dunk my fingers into the irresistible uncooked batter.

This month's recipe transforms all these feelings and experiences into the most satisfying and deliciously moist muffins. And what's more, they are healthy! The oats and the pecans provide an abundance of vitamin A, calcium and iron. The fruits and sweet carrots are packed with vitamin C, potassium and beta carotene. Even the turbinado sugar, with its slight scent of molasses, is good for you: a coarse-grain, light brown sugar, it is rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium, and totally free of harmful chemicals and bleaching agents. (You can find turbinado sugar in all health-food and better grocery stores.) The only fat used in this recipe is sunflower seed oil, which is loaded with Vitamin E and is one of the "good fats" — no artery-clogging cholesterol there! So enjoy the warm and cozy feeling of baking on a cold winter morning: it is utterly satisfying, delicious…. and guilt-free.