Receta Mixed Berry Muffins...a healthier option
Well folks, believe it or not, my elliptical has been dusted off and I've officially started exercising at least once a day. Don't get too worked up, though. I'm not switching over to posting diet food...but I did manage to make some muffins a tad bit healthier. I hope you don't mind if I share....
Diets really don't work out very well for me. If I deprive myself, I end up craving things that I wouldn't normally even think about eating That said, I need to make some changes or my health is going to suffer. So what is a food obsessed gal to do? As it turns out, nothing terribly drastic.
I'm thinking that if I trim a few calories here and there, and use some common sense, I should be able to shed a few pounds, no? Let's start with my basic muffin recipe. If you want a the full-calorie version, you can find it here: Strawberries and Cream Muffins Now, here's what I did to change it up:
- Mixed Berry Muffins
- 1 cup all purpose flour, divided
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus an additional 2 tablespoons for topping
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
- 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries
- 1 (6 oz) container low-fat Greek yogurt (I used strawberry)
- 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1/4 cup canola oil or coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.; line cupcakes pans with 18 liners.
You may want to spray the liners with a little cooking spray. I found the lower fat muffins stuck to the paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup white whole wheat flour, baking powder, sugar, and orange peel; set aside.
Toss the frozen berries (if the strawberries are huge, cut them into smaller pieces) with the remaining 1/4 cup flour. Mix the yogurt, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla together in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add the berries and the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed...batter will be lumpy...don't over mix.
Yikes, there are some huge strawberries in there...I cut them into smaller pieces. Keep the fruit frozen so your batter doesn't get all discolored.
With a cookie scoop, divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the batter. Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm.
Another change I made was to make the muffins smaller...I divided the batter into 18 muffins instead of 12. I also used a little less sugar for the topping.
I had forgotten that I had some dried orange peel from Penzey's in the fridge. I mixed some in with the sugar that I used for the topping...in fact I made a little extra orange-sugar and used some on my oatmeal during the week.
So what do you think? They are smaller, have less fat, and have a little more fiber. The orange peel and the flavored yogurt gives them some good flavor...I really wasn't missing anything. The only other thing I did was to freeze them all---that way I'm not tempted to eat more than one. I just nuke one for about 30 seconds when I take it from the freezer. Feel free to use fresh fruit in your version...the berries here weren't looking very pretty, yet.
Now, just so you don't think I've completely given up all the good stuff, stay tuned for my next post--Orange-White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cinnamon Rolls...all packed neatly in a freezer bag right next to my healthy muffins...