I always feel more complete when the entire family is together. My brother is finally home from being overseas and he’ll be staying for the week. This morning, before anyone else was up, I put on my jacket and shoes, walked the dog, came in and made coffee, and then decided to make some blueberry muffins. When I went to get the blueberries out of the fridge, I noticed someone had eaten half the pint. So instead of making blueberry muffins that lacked the main ingredient, blueberries, I mixed in strawberries and raspberries too.
Muffins are usually just as unhealthy as an unfrosted cupcake and so I decided to make some healthier swaps. I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour, stevia instead of sugar, cashew milk instead of milk, and applesauce and greek yogurt instead of butter. They turned out just as good, and I felt better after eating them.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds.
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup low fat greek yogurt
- 1 cup baking Stevia
- 2 large eggs
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup cashew milk
- 2-1/4 cups fresh blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries
This recipe originated from: Once Upon a Chef
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and sea salt.
- In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the greek yogurt and applesauce together with the stevia.
- Mix in the eggs, and the extracts.
- Slowly mix in, alternating, the milk and the flour mixture until smooth.
- With a spoon, mix the berries and chia seeds in. Don’t use the electric or hand mixer to combine the berries unless you want purple muffins. If you do, then go ahead!
I was really excited to use my rainbow silicone baking cups. I don’t know how many times I start making muffins, and then realize I have no baking cups. These are non-stick, eco-friendly, reusable, Bpa free, and the muffins fall right out of them instead of sticking to the paper. I also love that they don’t smelly “rubbery.” The colors are perfect for the Easter holiday coming up! Or you could use certain colors for holidays, like orange and purple for halloween, or blue and pink for a baby shower!
You can find these rainbow silicone baking cups right here on Amazon. If you use the code: TOMO5OFF you’ll get $5.00 off!
I’m going to try and make egg muffins or turkey meatball muffins with these next time. I was really impressed!
Once you fill the pan with liners, evenly distribute the muffin mix in 12 of the baking cups. You can fill it to the top, don’t worry about them baking over!
Bake them for 14-16 minutes. Keep an eye on them as all ovens cook differently. Use the toothpick method to see if they’re done!
I was really impressed with how well they turned out for being whole wheat. Sometimes the whole wheat flour is a hit or miss, but these were delicious! We scooped a little butter on top (I know it defeats the healthy purpose) but everything in moderation is acceptable.
You could make these for morning brunches, to-go breakfast, road trips, or just to have around the house for snacks. If you have kids, they won’t be able to tell the difference from these and the non-healthier version!
Nutrition: 98 Calories, 16 g Carbs, 1 g Fat, 4 g Protein, 2 g Sugar, 6 g Fiber
Next time, I think I am going to add pecans or walnuts to these for an extra crunch! What are some of your favorite muffin fillers?
Store them on a plate covered on the counter, or store them in a zip lock bag in the freezer for later use!
I hope you enjoy!
<3
Dorka says
Wow, these look so yummy! I never thought about using apple sauce and greek yoghurt instead of the butter, but they sound like really good swaps – and the idea of eating completely guilt free muffins is just so perfect! Can’t wait to make them for brunch soon! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Amanda @ Positively Amanda says
Yum! These look delicious!
Lauren says
Do you think I can sub almond milk for the cashew milk?
Taralynn McNitt says
Definitely!
Liv @ Healthy Liv says
These look yummy! Making blueberry muffins is always a good choice 🙂 I think my favorite thing about the weather finally warming up is all of the fresh, juicy BERRIES that’ll be around soon!
Linda @ The Fitty says
To add some protein, try even adding protein powder 🙂
Kirsten says
Just made these! They were so good! I think you’re right about the silicon cups though, I made mine in paper wrappers and the muffin didn’t come out cleanly. I also used almond milk, and could only find a stevia/sugar blend at the store but used 2/3 of a cup (which I’d reduce to a 1/2 next time)
Lisa says
Those are blackberries, you nitwit.
Taralynn McNitt says
glad you think I’m silly.
Claire says
Kill ’em with kindness!
Marisa says
Is this real life?! How can people be so unnecessarily mean!!
Kams says
Jealousy 😉
Some people can’t stand it when others take the initiative to make good changes in their lives. They’d rather sit there and run others down.
Taralynn: you ROCK!!!
Kimmy says
I made these this morning for my mom. I didn’t tell her that they were healthy and she had no idea! I love these types of recipes! Keep them coming.
Kristin C says
These look yummy. I need to make these, but I’d probably still use butter. Maybe half butter and half greek yogurt 🙂
Dana says
pretty pictures taralynn 🙂 can’t wait to give these a go!
Kent says
Can I add banana?
Gabrielle says
These look utterly delicious – I’ve been bitten by the baking bug! I’m going to try and bake something before Easter now 🙂 Have a lovely week!
Gabrielle | A Glass Of Ice
x
Mickey says
Hey there Taralyn I nominated you for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award
Check my post out here:
http://ahteablog.blogspot.com/2015/03/very-inspiring-blogger-award.html
Jessica says
These look great! I’m always looking for healthy recipes for a quick and easy breakfast. I can’t wait to give these a try!
Nicole says
You are a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, Taralynn! Thank you for the recipe, it’s wonderful. These are delish with a tiny bit of coconut oil melted on the top or spread in between two halves of a warm muffin 🙂 I subbed coconut milk beverage which was equally as good.
Hillary says
Taralynn what brand of stevia do you tend to use? I’ve started looking into it and didn’t know if one brand was better than another. I would like to start using that instead of sugar and sweet n low.
Thanks!
Taralynn McNitt says
Stevia in the Raw or SweetLeaf! You should definitely use that instead of sweet n low! Five years ago, I had to go to the doctor because I started getting migraines so bad that I would throw up, my vision would blur, and the pain was so excruciating that it was unbearable. I had to inhale this gross medicine threw my nose that the doctor prescribed that immediately stopped the migraine. After cutting out sweet n low, I never had a migraine like that again. I consumed about 3-5 packets a day in my coffee or oatmeal.
Hillary says
Thanks for the advice! I’ll definitely start trying those. I bought the stevia in the raw in packets for my coffee, I’m happy about the switch.