Skinny Blueberry Muffins

A craving for warm, blueberry muffins hit me hard the other morning. So hard in fact, that I woke up and went to the store to get some ingredients. I wanted to make a healthier or skinny version of blueberry muffin so I could satisfy the craving without the guilt. It is swimsuit season after all. After playing around in the kitchen for a little bit, I think I came up with a pretty darn good recipe for skinny blueberry muffins. They haven’t dried out and are just as good the next day (as I write this eating my second).

I love baking. It’s so much more scientific than cooking. Cooking I can taste as I go and add a little of a spice or other ingredient as needed. However, baking you really don’t know what you’ve got until the end. You can’t go back and add more flour or a spice. I look at it as a fun challenge! Especially when I am playing around with my own recipes. Luckily, I got this one down in two tries. I remember baking with grandmother and cousins for hours when I was younger. It brings back so many fun memories of team work, learning about numbers and measurement, and sharing when we all wanted to lick the beaters or a spoonful of batter. Don’t let baking from scratch scare you– it’s fun and not as hard as you think! This recipe is especially easy. Just add all the ingredients and bake! Find the recipe below.

Also, instead of using butter– I used Smart Balance. This is a dairy and gluten free spread that makes for a great alternative to butter. I prefer the one with EVOO, as it also is free from soy. In addition to this spread, I also like to top my muffins with a little extra honey. Any way you eat them– they are delicious and a great, skinny alternative to your standard recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of almond flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup of almond butter
• 1/2 cup of raw, organic honey
• 2 bananas
• 1/3 cup of unsweetended shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup of coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 pint of fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare muffin tins with baking paper liners or spray with coconut oil.
3. Mix all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl using an electric or hand mixer.
4. Evenly distribute the batter into liners.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Keep your eye on them as you bake them, but they will rise up and be delicious straight out of the oven!

*Note (or possibly confession): I was out of coconut oil, so I used a coconut oil spray and sprayed to fill a 1/3 a cup measuring cup. It probably made these even a little more light + skinny!