Eat Well, Be Well, Live Well

These easy to prepare, delicious muffins are perfect with eggs on a weekend morning, and the leftovers make great afternoon snacks or a treat while out hiking or biking. This recipe is so easy, my kids share in the preparation.

I do not make these gluten-free, although you can certainly substitute ingredients and adjust the recipe accordingly. Even though I’ve been eating mostly gluten-free, I don’t believe in going to extremes unless one needs to–say, for instance, if you are actually allergic to gluten.

I think fresh blueberries work best, but if you don’t have them handy, you can use frozen blueberries. Just be sure to stir them into the batter without thawing them, otherwise your muffins will turn completely purple.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour, regular or gluten-free*

1 cup whole-grain spelt flour

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice (cane sugar)

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup milk (regular, or non-dairy, such as almond, coconut, etc.)

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted

2 eggs

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C). Butter or line a standard 12-cup muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, toss together the dry ingredients (this does not include the blueberries).

In a sightly larger bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the milk(s), vanilla extract and butter and/or oil. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Fold in the blueberries.

Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, until evenly distributed between all 12 (roughly three-quarters full). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, approximately 15-20 minutes. Let cool in the tins for 5 minutes. These are best served warm, but as I mentioned, they make for great snacks, too. Store thoroughly-cooled leftover muffins–if you have any–in an airtight container. They will keep for several days.

Enjoy!

*Note about all-purpose flour: I have been using Einkorn flour in recipes where I would normally use regular all-purpose flour. Einkorn is considered an ancient grain (often called “nature’s original wheat”) that has never been hybridized. In fact, the brand I use, Jovial, claims Einkorn is the same as it was more than 12,000 years ago. If you’re gluten-free or have been reading the papers lately, you know that studies suggest it’s not gluten in and of itself that’s causing so many problems; it’s the gluten in the majority of grains grown today–most of which have been tinkered with for hundreds of years.

To make this recipe gluten-free, use 2 cups gluten-free flour(s) in place of the regular all-purpose and spelt. I like to use 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (e.g., Bob’s Red Mill), 1/2 cup almond flour, and 1/2 cup buckwheat flour.