One of my Saturday morning traditions is to start the morning with a cup of coffee and the Food Network. A couple of my favorite shows come on at this time and I love watching them for the creativity of their recipes, the simplicity in most of the recipes created, and the fact that I’ll actually probably make the recipes that they cook! I’m not in culinary school and so, with the exception of a few cooking classes here and there, I’ve found these shows to be a great way to learn about different cooking techniques, the pairing of different ingredients and, of course, new recipe ideas!

A few weekends ago, I watched Ina Garten make these Blueberry Bran Muffins. I loved the ease of the recipe and the fact that she was using some healthier swaps to make these muffins, while keeping them seemingly delicious! So, fast-forward to this past weekend when I decided to make these guys and they absolutely, 100% did not disappoint! Kyle and I both loved them and the remaining muffins have been stored on our counter for more enjoying this week!

A little bit about these muffins - they use the main basic baking ingredients, including flour, sugar, egg, baking powder and baking soda, but, instead of tons of butter, Ina uses vegetable oil and plain Greek yogurt to keep them moist and crumbly and she adds wheat bran (although I couldn’t find wheat bran at the store and used oat bran), which adds some texture without drying them out and gives them a big boost of fiber! I really think the yogurt is what makes these muffins so incredibly moist and it also bumps up the nutrition profile of theses muffins by increasing the protein and calcium content. To seal the deal I found some incredibly sweet fresh blueberries at the grocery this past weekend, which packs in even MORE flavor and sweetness and nutrition with every scrumptious bite!

Of course you could add in some whole wheat flour for 1/2 the regular flour, but I would make it this way first. It’s a healthier boost to your typical blueberry muffin and something healthier that your kids and athletes might actually want to eat in the morning! Pair it with a scrambled egg if you need an extra boost of protein (will get you about 7 additional grams). This past weekend we paired the muffins with cheesy eggs, a perfect Saturday morning brunch for us. I’ve also made them and used fresh raspberries and blackberries and they were just as delicious!

I hope you give these muffins a try! I’ve got the remainders packaged on our counter for some quick breakfasts on the go and maybe another slow Saturday morning coffee with Kyle or a girlfriend. Kyle and I have both already grabbed one on a busy morning at least once this week :) You can find the recipe on the Barefoot Contessa website. I made it exactly as written, except I used oat bran instead of wheat bran and they were excellent!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

The Best Blueberry bran muffins

Original recipe by Ina Garten found here

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more to grease the tops of your muffin tin

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 7 ounces of Greek yogurt (I typically use 1 1/2 of my 5.3 oz Nounos plain Greek yogurt containers that are regularly in our frige)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup honey

• 2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cups wheat or oat bran

• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (8 ounces)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the tops of the muffin tin with vegetable oil and line with 12 paper liners.

2. Stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.

3. In a large bowl whisk together the yogurt, sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla.

4. Add the bowl of mixed dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir until well combined.

5. Gently stir in the bran and blueberries until just combined.

6. Scoop the batter equally into each muffin tin. I use an ice cream scoop to do this, which works really well.

7. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. These are really dense muffins, so I have found that these need to be cooked on the longer side but, remember, every oven is a little different!

8. Allow sit for about 5 minutes and enjoy!

Serve It Again!

I’ve found that these muffins can be stored in an airtight container for the week and be reheated in the microwave for about 20 seconds before serving again. Or they can be enjoyed room temp if no time to reheat. Enjoy!