Start you and your kids’ day off to a healthy start with a nutritious muffin. Make them yourself to ensure you’re using healthy ingredients and to save money by avoiding expensive coffee house muffins. Fiber and vitamin-rich ingredients used in homemade muffins may even be able to help prevent disease and treat some conditions.
Blueberry Muffins
Blueberries contains 4 grams of fiber per serving. They also have antioxidants, which have been found to prevent the growth of cancer, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and scientists at Rutgers University.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup frozen (thawed) or fresh blueberries
¼ cup butter
½ cup milk
1 egg
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and mix together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, adding the blueberries last. Mix the ingredients together. Fill each muffin cup (or grease the tin if you are not using cups, though cups are the healthier option) 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Orange Cranberry Muffins
According to the Mayo Clinic, cranberries are another fruit rich in antioxidants. They also have antiviral and antibacterial qualities. According to a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, cranberries may help to treat urinary tract infections.
Ingredients:
1 egg
1 8oz. can cranberry sauce
¼ cup orange juice
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and put all of the wet ingredients into a bowl. Stir them together. In a separate bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin has a whopping 7 grams of fiber per serving, 17% your daily dosage of Vitamin C, 6% of your daily dosage of calcium, 19% your daily dosage of iron and 763% of the recommended daily dosage of Vitamin A.
Ingredients:
1 8oz. can unsweetened pumpkin
½ cup milk
¼ cup butter
1 egg
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a blender, mix all of the wet ingredients until smooth. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the wet ingredients. Mix well. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
