Whole Wheat Blueberry Oat Muffins

I decided to change things up from my usual banana-based weekend baking and made some of these instead:

I used the recipe from The Lean Green Bean as a base and made a few minor modifications. They turned out perfectly – bursting with berries, moist, sweet but not too sweet, and very much toddler approved. Little dose he know, I snuck a big old zucchini in there ;). They’re perfect for a quick snack or breakfast and were also insanely quick and easy to make, basically the most important factor according to me.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Oat Muffins (adapted from The Lean Green Bean’s recipe) ~ 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cups organic, naturally sweetened vanilla yogurt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 small to medium sized zucchini, finely grated
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, plus another 1/4 cup to place on top of muffins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° and either grease or line a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. Mix together coconut oil, egg, yogurt, vanilla & grated zucchini until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients; mix well.
5. Fold in 2/3 cups blueberries.
6. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.
7. Gently press 2-3 blueberries on top of each muffin.
8. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of muffin comes out clean.
9. Let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I made these on Sunday and put 1/2 in the freezer for safe keeping. That way i’m not tempted to finish a dozen muffins in half a day ;). The modifications that I made were omitting the sugar, using vanilla instead of plain yogurt (since I omitted the sugar), coconut oil instead of butter & the addition of a zucchini. I was a little worried that they would have that really flour-y taste that can come with using whole wheat flour, but they absolutely did not.

And here, because I just can’t help myself:

I could just take a bite out of those little legs. I won’t, obviously :D.

Have a great Tuesday!

Chocolate Chip Banana Pumpkin Oat Bread

OK, so a few posts back I mentioned not loving the taste of pumpkin…but it’s fall and I just felt extremely obligated to incorporate it into my baking. And it just so happens that when it’s mixed in with bananas and chocolate chips, especially the chocolate chips, it’s pretty good! I basically just followed my recipe for Seriously Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, replacing the 1/4 cup of applesauce with 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin puree. I also added some ground cinnamon and nutmeg. It tastes very fall-ish. The pumpkin taste is quite subtle, which is probably why I was a fan.

Chocolate Chip Banana Pumpkin Oat Bread

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 cups oat flour (can be made by grinding up 2.5-3 cups oats)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Grease a 9′ x 5′ loaf pan
3. Place first 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth
4. Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl
5. Add wet ingredients and mix well
6. Fold in chocolate chips
7. Pour into loaf pan and bake on middle rack in center of oven for 35-40 minutes
8. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing

This is good for about 3 days so I cut a few slices to leave out and froze the rest. I think anything with chocolate chips tastes better warm so I pop a slice into the microwave for 15 seconds before chowing down. My toddler is my biggest food critic and he looooves this stuff. In my books, that’s a baking victory!

I consider this a baby step in the world of baking with pumpkin. Maybe i’ll get a little more adventurous next weekend. If not, Parker will gladly eat the rest of the puree :).

Have a great day!