Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Finals are done, I am home in Minnesota, and summer is here! This also means I am finally able to spend some much needed time in my (mom's) lovely kitchen. My stay will be short this time, as I am heading to Nepal on a 7 week missions trip in less than 3 weeks (eek). I am maximizing this time with days filled with friends, the vegetable garden, pilates, and making delicious food.

First on the list was blueberry muffins. I found this recipe in a book my sister-in-law gave my mom for Mother's Day called Superfood Kitchen by Julie Morris. I'm loving the recipe book so far and the extra health info it gives on many superfoods.

These muffins are more dense than your average bakery muffin, which makes them very filling despite their smaller-than-a-bakery size. They are the perfect sweetness for a breakfast muffin; the fresh blueberries help hit the sweet tooth, but they don't make me feel like I just consumed a dessert. They are made with 100% whole wheat flour and are vegan since they are made with almond milk, maple syrup, and coconut oil. The applesauce replaces some the the coconut oil, so if I wanted to I could give it a "low-fat" label. I'm not usually about labeling foods with health claims though, and would rather just enjoy a good, fresh-baked muffin.

Here's to summer!

Makes 12 muffins; 150 calories per muffin

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup almond milk (or nut-milk of choice)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Stir together  flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
3. In a large liquid measuring cup measure and stir together the nut milk, apple sauce, maple syrups, coconut oil, and lend zest. (The measuring cup doubles as the bowl and the measuring cup very nicely.)
4. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over stir, as the batter is supposed to be lumpy.
5. In a small bowl, measure out the blueberries and add a handful of flour to the bowl. Toss the berries, making sure they are fully coated with flour. This will keep the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin tin while in the oven.
6. Scoop the batter equally into the prepared muffin tins. This makes exactly 12 muffins; there should be no batter left over.
7. Bake the muffins for 24-28 minutes, or until tops turn golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.