Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Something you should know about me: I love blueberries. Like, an insane amount.
BUT! Sometimes blueberries themselves kind of suck. I suppose it's seasonal and berry specific. Sometimes I prefer the smell and taste of blueberry "flavor" whatever that is. And the color. I definitely like the color.
Right now though? Blueberries are freaking awesome and you'd be a fool not to take advantage. I think I see another farmer's market and a few punnets of blueberries in my very near future. Keep an eye out on my desk at work for baked goods. Even Sprinkles tried to get in on the action with lemon blueberry cupcakes. And this is the second recipe they've clearly stolen from my blog which is full of recipes I steal from all over, but that is entirely beside the point.

I'm not the only one in blueberry mode it seems; SELF Magazine just sent me this scrummy sounding little tidbit:

Makes 6 muffins (ie, you might want to triple the recipe)

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 large egg
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk
1/2 cup oat bran
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 medium)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or brown sugar substitute - keep in mind that the substitute requires half the amount as regular, so this would be 1 tbsp of substitute)
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen, unsweetened * note to reader; frozen? Now? Be serious. Do NOT use frozen fruit right now. If you're reading this in December though, please feel free.*
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional) *note to self; get a zester! *

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a standard muffin pan with cooking spray. Whisk egg, sour cream and buttermilk in a bowl. Mix oat bran, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a second bowl. Combine banana and sugar in a third bowl. Stir in buttermilk mixture. Sprinkle in flour mixture and stir gently. Fold in blueberries and zest, if desired. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.

Plus? Get a load of THIS (this is with regular sugar, with substitute it'll be even lower)!!

130 calories per muffin
1.8 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
29 g carbs
3.8 g fiber
4.4 g protein

Thank me later. I think I might make these tonight. They're like, way SB friendly.

** Delicious Update:
OMG SO GOOD. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 20 muffins, not 12 as one might expect from the whole "makes 6" nonsense.
Also, I used the silicone cups for my first twelve, and paper for the rest. The muffins do stick to the paper quite a bit, so you might want to use foil or just spray your muffin pan.

** Soggy Update:
Eat them within a day or two of baking - they spew moisture out into their container (plastic bag, tupperware, whatever) and get a bit soggy, and actually, a little bitter somehow. Weird. So yes, eat them quickly.

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