Mega Moist Banana Blueberry Muffins

As you can see in my lack of recent posts, I haven’t cooked much as of late. Family Thanksgiving gatherings in Vancouver, training for / running the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco, and business day trips out of town have somehow all gotten in the way of me and my kitchen. So when I finally had a weekend at home to sort myself out, all I was craving was the simplicity and comfort of never-fail bananas, blueberries and maybe some carbs (still trying to kick my carb addiction after running that darn half!). This recipe uses whole wheat flour, but you could easily substitute oat (for gluten-free), spelt, (dare I suggest) white or any other flour you like.

My mother used to (all the way up until I moved out of home last year) make us fresh muffins for breakfast every second day and would always put chocolate chips in mine (you’re the BEST, Mom!). But rather than crack open the Costco-size bag of Chipits in my freezer (cause once they’re open they, quite pathetically of me, become my go-t0 afterwork snack) I opted for the bag of frozen blueberries, which may have been even better than the chocolate. Okay no, who am I kidding, chocolate always wins, but the blueberries are pretty darn good.

At the very least the blueberries do cut out enough sugar and fat that these muffins only have 121 calories each, meaning you can have not one, but TWO, for breakfast and still have room left for yogurt or fruit. Or enjoy the best of both worlds and do half and half chocolate-blueberry!

INGREDIENTS

Dry

Wet

and 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

DIRECTIONS

• In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
• In a medium bowl, or large liquid measuring cup (as above), mix all wet ingredients.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until dry are moistened.

• Fold in blueberries.
• Pour batter into muffin tin (for 12) sprayed with oil.

• Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick pushed into the centre comes out clean.

Just look at how golden these guys come out of the oven!

• Let cool for 10 minutes in pan before removing to cooling rack…or skip the cooling and just dive right into one!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Makes 12 muffins.

Per muffin: 121 calories – 26 g carbs – 3 g fibre – 1 g fat – 4 g protein

Banana Apple Pumpkin Muffins

Part 2 of making brinner was baking these muffins. The girls just raved at how flavourful and moist they came out and gluten&eggyolk-free Sophia was even able to enjoy them.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cup large flake oats
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon stevia powder
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 ripe medium banana, peeled and mashed
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 egg whites (or 1 whole egg)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 green apple, chopped
• 2 tbsp orange zest (optional)

DIRECTIONS

• Grind oats into a flour in a food processor.
• Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Mix all wet ingredients, expect for chopped apple and orange zest, in a medium bowl.
• Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir until moist. Fold in apples.
• Distribute batter into 12 silicone muffin cups or muffin tin. Sprinkle with orange zest.
• Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Makes 12 servings.

Per serving: 143 calories, 22 g carbs, 10 g sugar, 6 g fat, 4 g protein, 3 g fibre

Healthy Apple Pumpkin Muffins

I’m in no way a blogger, but made this made these muffins today, took a bite and though they were so darn delicious that it must be shared. It’d be selfish if I didn’t! And who knows, maybe I’ll actually take to like this blogging thing…

I found this recipe here, but made a few changes. My mother had recently been down in Florida and brought back some coconut palm sugar for me. It’s a one-to-one substitute for sugar, but is low on the glycemic index so it doesn’t spike your blood sugar and make you crave sugar half an hour later, though I can’t guarantee that you won’t be craving another one of these muffins after you try one… I’m guilty of wolfing down two in about four minutes…

Sorry about the terrible photo, I wasn’t planning on making a post, so I only used my phone to snap this one.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups rolled/flake oats
• 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (or sugar, agave nectar or honey, you choose!)
• 1/4 cup stevia (I use this one, which isn’t pure stevia, so cut back as necessary if you have the concentrated stuff)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
• 2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apple

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Grind oats into a flour in a food processor or blender.
3. In a large bowl, stir together oat flour, sugar, stevia, spices, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin, oil, applesauce, vanilla and greek yogurt. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups.
4. Bake in for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Makes 12 servings.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Per muffin:

Calories   183

Carbs 26 g

Sugar 8g

Fat 7g

Protein 5g

Fiber 3g

Would love to hear what you think!