Heathly Blueberry Muffins

A runner friend of mine brought me some blueberries from his own blueberry bush, so I decided to make some blueberry muffins. I searched for a healthier version of a blueberry muffin and came across this one. I've tweaked it a little and here's my version. Great for breakfast and/or pre-run fueling!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¾ cups plus 1 teaspoon white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• ⅓ cup canola oil
• ½ cup honey 
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt* (Any fat percentage  even fat-free will work. Higher fat Greek yogurt will make a richer muffin. I used 2%.)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar), for sprinkling on top

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400° F. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups of the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix them together with a whisk.

Combine the oil and honey in a medium bowl and beat together with a whisk. Next, beat in eggs. Then mix in  vanilla extract and yogurt .  

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a large spoon. A few lumps in the mixture is fine. Before adding the blueberries, place them in a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of flour. This keeps the blueberries  from sinking to the bottom of the batter when baking.  Fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter. The batter will be thick.

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups. (I use paper muffin cups.) Evenly divide the batter between the dozen muffin cups Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with turbinado sugar. Bake the muffins until golden (16 to 19 minutes). If a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, they're done.

Cool muffins on a cooling rack. 

Baked Berry Oatmeal

My running friend Cathy Jackson shared this simple to make Berry Baked Oatmeal recipe. It's the perfect breakfast or pre-run fueling for runners! 

Baked Berry Oatmeal 

1 hour - Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 1/2 cup Steel Cut Oats
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (I used canola oil)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk (I used 1% regular milk)
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Chopped Almonds
• Coconut Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In large bowl stir together rolled oats, steel cut oats, baking powder, salt & cinnamon, set aside.

In medium bowl combine brown sugar, honey, oil, applesauce, egg & milk.  Add to oat mixture & stir until combined.

Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish (a 9" x 13" glass baking dish works good too).  Top evenly with berries, chopped almonds & sprinkle lightly with coconut sugar.

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes or until set and lightly browned.  

Serve warm -  top with Greek Yogurt and chopped almonds