Tag Archives: blueberries

Chia Blueberry Muggin – Muffin in a Mug

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After a month of nonstop holiday baking, cooking (and, naturally, eating), I’m trying to wean myself off sugar. After only a few days of so-so success, I feel as if I should be sainted. Yikes. I’ve heard sugar is as addictive as hard drugs and I believe it.
So while I was experimenting in the kitchen with a no sugar brownie recipe (which was nothing to blog about!) I heard on the news that there is a recipe contest using chia seeds.

big as the tip of a pencil


My ears perked up. Chia Seeds! You know, those cute little black dots that look like poppy seeds. They actually sport a variety of subtle shades of brown, grey and black and are the size of the top of a pencil.

I do enjoy using chia seeds and happen to have a couple of bags of them on hand. My mind raced with all the fun things I could make. Everyone seems to love the simplicity and variety of the Muggin – or Muffin in a Mug. So Voila! A Chia Blueberry Muggin.
The most popular item on my blog is the Cinnamon Muffin in a Mug. So I know the simplicity of a muggin is an easy way to get a ton of nutrition in a tasty package.

chia seed varieties

The contest rules say that you need to use 2 Tablespoons of chia seeds in each recipe. To make this even more nourishing, I used blueberries and walnuts; both superfoods. Add the oatmeal and this includes FOUR superfoods!

If you don’t know much about the chia seeds, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know they contain all kinds of omega-3 fatty acids. Not that I really know what that is or why anything called a “fatty acid” would be a healthy addition to a diet. It’s a mystery, but I’ll accept it on faith.

Chia seeds also absorb moisture in our stomachs, so they expand and help us stay full longer. There’s tons more information about this superfood in dozens of websites. This one seems to lay out the facts simply about chia nutrition.

I made a few versions before the master taste tester, my hubby Ken, tried a bite and his eyes lit up. “This is really good,” he said sounding like Dr. Oz who says that after trying every culinary item presented to him. I do hope Dr. Oz likes them because the contest prize is a trip to New York to present the item to the great Oz himself. And this is a prize winning recipe. Try it and see if your taste buds don’t cheer!

Be careful not to “over bake” this. The chia seeds will expand with moisture, so I took it out of the microwave when it was just set up in the middle and still a bit gooey on the bottom when I flipped it onto a plate. That was perfect.

Note: For those who follow my blog and have a container of “Muggin Mix,” yes, you may use the mix. Just delete the flour, oats and baking powder from the ingredients below and use 3 TBS + ½ tsp of Muggin Mix.

Gluten Free option – swap out the flour for quick oats.
Dairy Free option – swap out the yogurt for applesauce or oil.

Chia Blueberry Muggin – or Muffin in a Mug
Ingredients
1 egg
2 TBS plain yogurt
1 TBS honey
½ tsp almond extract
2 TBS chia seeds

2 TBS flour
1 TBS quick oats
½ tsp baking powder

4 TBS blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 TBS chopped walnuts

Directions
Whisk the egg in a large coffee mug that will hold at least 12 – 16 ounces.
Add yogurt, honey, almond extract and chia seeds and mix well.
Stir in the dry ingredients until well blended.
Carefully fold in the blueberries and walnuts.
Put in microwave for about 1 ½ – 2 minutes. Don’t over bake.
Tip out onto a plate and enjoy.

The perfect breakfast – or dessert. High in protein, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, whatever they are! Three superfoods cha cha together using ch-ch-ch-chia seeds.

The most popular item on my blog is the Cinnamon Muffin in a Mug. Please give it a test drive.
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Celebrate Fruit Compote

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fruit compote

serve in a pretty dish

canned pears


frozen strawberries


Fruit Compote has a day on the calendar to celebrate the rich tradition of blending different fruits together. The French would boil them in a syrup, but I have a much simpler version.
Note, compote is different from compost – the leftover garbage pile some folks have in their yards to shore up the garden soil. In compote, you want fruit that is succulent, not spoiled.

blueberries

craisins


It’s an appropriate dessert, especially during lent. It’s also a tradition for Jewish Passover, but then it’s made with all dried fruit.

coat with yogurt


I have a formula for making this that you might enjoy:
1 canned fruit
1 fresh fruit
1 dried fruit
1 frozen fruit
Topping of choice – usually low fat yogurt for me.

Tips:
Look for fruits with different colors and textures for the best result.
If you’re using fresh apples or bananas, make only enough for one meal, as the bananas will get mushy and the apples may turn brown.
Serve in a pretty dish, if you want to dress it up. This would be a fun dessert to put in a tall wine glass.

The possibilities are endless, but let me show you one example.
1 15 oz can pear slices – drained
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup dried craisins (You can use a full cup, if you like.)
1 6 oz cup of vanilla bean low fat yogurt. (Remember when yogurt was always 8 oz?)

Instead of yogurt, you may want to use pudding. For more topping ideas see this blog post:

http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2011/11/18/fruit-cup-dessert/

Play with your favorite fruits and combinations. Let me know what worked for you. There’s hardly any food more beautiful than fruit. Truly candy for the eyes and palate.
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Blueberry Almond Energy Bars

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Blueberry almond bars

blueberry almond energy bar

I get hungry for blueberries -and I love almonds, so this was a great bar to try. All the blueberries we picked last summer (and froze) are now gone, but this recipe used dried blueberries and dried cranberries.
This goes together in minutes with a few pulses of a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, try your blender.

pulse in a food processor


I found this on http://allrecipes.com which is a fun place to research new recipes. The recipe called for just two types of seeds – sunflower and sesame, but I couldn’t resist altering it a bit to include flax and chia seeds. These are the two seeds Dr. Oz mentions often as super foods, so I’m using them more. Chia seeds are tiny black seeds that look like poppy seeds however, they are supposed to grow quickly in your stomach and help you feel full quicker.

add berries to almond crumbs


This recipe is quite flavorful and qualifies as gluten free (with GF oats) and vegan, so it should appeal to a number of you with special diets. I will say that it’s a bit crumbly and you need to keep them covered well or they will dry out because there’s no fat in them. It’s one of the bars that I brought to our church auction and those who tried them were very pleased with the flavor.

press into a pan


Ingredients
½ pound raw almonds – about 1 ¾ cups
½ cup seeds (total) – sesame, sunflower, chia, flax (your choice)
1 ½ cups rolled oats
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried blueberries
2/3 cup maple syrup
1-2 tsp cinnamon

bake till golden


Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
Grease a 9 inch square baking dish.
Grind almonds, seeds and oats in a food processor until they resemble coarse meal.
Pour the meal into a bowl and add the syrup, cinnamon and berries. Stir until blended.
Moisten your hands with water and press the mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 1 hour or until toasted.
Cool before cutting into 16 bars.
Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to one week.

The blueberries and cranberries really satisfy the longing for something sweet and chewy. The almonds give them protein and the oats add fiber, so you should stay full longer with these.

If your bars are a bit too crumbly, just break them up and serve over yogurt for a great dessert or snack.

See what you think and let me know if you try them.

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Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

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I'm pleased

It was time to bake blueberry muffins with my 9 year old granddaughter, Madeline. I went hunting for a recipe with yogurt. I’ve discovered that baking with unflavored natural yogurts really increases the moisture content, even if I use all whole wheat flour. For this recipe, I used whole wheat pastry flour, which is finer ground.

measure yogurt


The original recipe is “Jacky’s Fruit and Yogurt Muffins” from www.allrecipes.com. However I made several changes. I also think the sugar could be cut back.

cracking the egg

I used the last of the frozen blueberries that I picked last summer with my two Florida granddaughters and their mom, Kara. The texture of frozen blueberries is fine, but I do think that while they thaw, they release all the blue dye into the batter. Something raw berries don’t do. But this is winter and it was the best we could do. They were delicious muffins.

scoop in the batter

Makes 16 – 18 two inch muffins
Ingredients
2 cups ww pastry flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt (8 oz)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
4 TBS melted butter
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw

It looks really good


Directions
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Put muffin liners in pans or spray with cooking spray.
• Stir dry ingredients together to blend.
• In a separate bowl, mix in the yogurt, egg, vanilla and butter.
• Stir the two mixtures together.
• Fold in the blueberries. (If frozen, drain them first.)
• Scoop into the muffin pans
• Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.

Enjoy the blueberry yogurt muffins warm or cold, plain or with jam or cream cheese.

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