Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins

As pretentious as I think Martha Stewart is, I have tried several of her recipes and 90% of them have been great.  So, below is one of them I tried yesterday.  I had a craving for banana muffins.  Not too sweet.  Not cakey.  This was good and as fairly healthy.  See my notes below to see my own touches.  So, if the bananas on your counter top are looking overripe, don't throw them out; they'll add even more flavor to these muffins.

• Prep Time 20 minutes


• Total Time 45 minutes plus cooling


• Yield Makes 12

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)


• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)


• 1/4 cup wheat germ


• 1 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature


• 1/3 cup granulated sugar


• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar


• 2 large eggs


• 2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)


• 1/3 cup reduced-fat (2 percent) milk


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.


2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.


3. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.


4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

NOTES:

• I used graham cracker crumbs since I didn't have wheat germ


• Googled wheat germ substitute and this was an awesome answer for it "oatbran, it is granular like cornmeal, it is good to, flaxseed meal, even cornflake crumbs or graham wafer crumbs they are not only a binder but add some fiber to the cookies, cakes or breads, just remember they also absorb moisture, with molasses it is fine but a sugar based recipe requires a small amount of extra moisture, honey, molasses, glucose and brown sugar are what is known as hydreants, meaning they keep or absorb moisture from the air to keep thing moist for longer periods of time."


• I did half with blueberries.  half with out.


• I used fresh blueberries


• I used 2 1/2 super ripe bananas and mashed to a little more than 1 cup


• If you want to cut the fat even more, substitute half the butter with applesauce

Homemade Pancake Mix

How to Make Your Own Pancake Mixes - Make either buttermilk or sour cream pancakes!

You can make these mixes as large or as small as you like. Keep the same ratio of ingredients to make it any size.

Homemade Buttermilk Pancake Mix
All Purpose Flour               cups 4
Sugar                                        cups 1/4
Dry Buttermilk Powder    cups 1/2
Baking Soda                           tsp 2
Baking Powder                     tsp 4
Salt                                           tsp 1

Homemade Sour Cream Pancake Mix
All Purpose Flour                 cups 4
Sugar                                          cups 1/3
Dry Sour Cream Powder    cups 2/3
Baking Soda                             tsp 2
Baking Powder                       tsp 4
Salt                                              tsp 1

For easier measurement, remember that one tablespoon equals three teaspoons.

Combine all the ingredients and whisk together to distribute evenly. Store your pancake mixes in an air-tight container in a cool place and it should last a long time.

You can buy buttermilk powder in your grocery store.

Use the sour cream pancake mix as a base mix for by adding fruit, nuts, baking chips or more. Of course, you can make it plain for some special, extra rich pancakes. We guarantee that it is better than most store mixes.

To use your mix:
1. Measure the desired mix into a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk one egg for every one to 1 1/2 cups of mix.
3. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter or oil to the egg for every one cup of mix.
4. Add 2/3 cup water to the egg mixture for every one cup of mix. Add the liquid mixture to the mix and stir until just combined. The batter will probably be too dry so add more water to reach the desired consistency.

Variations
Most popular pancake mix is Raspberry Sour Cream Pancakes. We also make a Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Pancakes Mix. We’ll tell you how to make your own sour cream pancake mix using dry sour cream powder. Use it as a base mix for by adding fruit, nuts, baking chips or more. Of course, you can make it plain for some special, extra rich pancakes. We guarantee that it is better than most store mixes.

Here are a baker’s dozen recipes to use your Gourmet Sour Cream Pancake Mix. Of course, this is just a beginning; use your imagination to create more great gourmet pancakes.

• Gourmet Chocolate Chip Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add mini milk chocolate chips). Serve with maple syrup, coconut cream syrup, or vanilla cream syrup.

• Gourmet Cinnamon Chip Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add mini cinnamon chips). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon cream syrup, or cinnamon apple syrup.

• Gourmet Maple Chip Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add mini maple chips). Serve with maple syrup or maple cream syrup.

• Gourmet Walnut and Date Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add chopped walnuts and dates). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon cream syrup, or maple cream syrup.

• Gourmet Apple Cinnamon Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add grated fresh apples or Fuji dry apples plus cinnamon). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon apple syrup, or maple cream syrup.

• Gourmet Baked Apple Pancakes (add grated fresh apples or Fuji dry apples plus maple flavoring). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon apple syrup, or maple cream syrup.

• Gourmet Cranberry Nut Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add chopped walnuts and dry cranberries). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon apple syrup, or coconut cream syrup.

• Gourmet Caramel Pear Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add diced dry pears plus a touch of nutmeg and a little cinnamon). Serve with Cinnamon Cream or Vanilla Cream syrup or a sprinkle of brown sugar.

• Gourmet Blueberry Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add fresh or individually frozen blueberries plus a touch of lemon and nutmeg). Add the blueberries at the last and don’t stir more than necessary to avoid turning your pancakes blue.

• Gourmet Fresh Peach and Pecan Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add chopped fresh peaches and chopped pecans plus a touch of lemon and nutmeg). Serve with Orchard Peach or Vanilla Cream Syrup.

• Gourmet Raspberry Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add fresh or individually frozen raspberries plus a touch of lemon). Add the raspberries at the last and don’t stir more than necessary.

• Gourmet Banana Pecan Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add a mashed banana and a little banana flavoring along with cinnamon and chopped pecans). Top with more sliced bananas. Serve with maple syrup or cinnamon cream syrup.

• Gourmet Fresh Strawberry Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add fresh strawberries thinly sliced and a touch of lemon). It’s easier to slice your strawberries with a strawberry slicer. Serve with strawberry syrup or vanilla cream syrup.


My NOTES:
• I don't add the buttermilk nor sour cream when I make my mix.
• I use whole wheat flour, not all-purpose flour.
• I add 2 tsp of cinnamon to the 4 cup of flour.
• When I make pancakes, I just use 1 cup of mix, 1 egg, and add just enough milk (usually skim,
otherwise homo milk) until I get the right consistency.
• I just add the blueberries to the pancakes after I ladle some mixture into the pan. Cook. Then flip.

got it from here