Every summer, for the past 3 years, I have participated in teaching summer school. As a special education teacher, I think it is so important to give exceptional kids real world experiences that they may not have otherwise. This past Tuesday, I took my class blueberry picking at Rose’s Berry Farm, which is one of my most favorite festive places to visit (especially in the fall when the air is crisp and they serve apple cider!) I’m not sure who was looking forward to the trip more!
The weather cooled down just enough, and the staff at the farm took all of us to our special picking area in a tractor. Most of the kids ate more berries than they actually brought home. The children laughed, and my staff discussed all the fabulous recipes they would be making with their fresh picked fruit. Even our bus driver got in on the fun! I always cherish the opportunity to travel with my students, even if it is a short local trip.
All these years since my own elementary school days, and field trips are still my favorite…
As the residential “Martha” of the group I was really struggling with what I was going to make with my berries…the pressure! I had tons of original recipe ideas (salmon with a blueberry sauce) swirling through my head, along with my moms Christmas Brunch Muffins. Once home and overwhelmed with ideas, I decided to challenge myself by using pantry items and what I had in my fridge since we are going to Maine for 4 days and I needed to use things up. I also wanted HEALTHY, as a bikini will be worn on this Maine trip.
I started by looking for a tried-and-true blueberry muffin recipe and was initially inspired by this one posted on Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman, especially the yogurt part. Chobani yogurt is a regular staple in my fridge, and I knew the blueberry was still in there {surprisingly}! Also, I just made the discovery that Laughing Cow now makes low calorie cream cheese which is H.E.A.V.E.N! Who doesn’t love a healthy version of a toasty blueberry muffin and cream cheese? And only 45 calories a wedge…
oh! do I have plans for you, you little wedges of cream cheesy goodness!
Anyways, I used that recipe very loosely, more as a guide for the baking powder and baking soda. I noticed the original recipe was just too dry. I added the cup of skim and it instantly transformed the batter! Having absolutely zero idea how these would turn out, I paced and stalked the oven to see the results. They looked good but how would they taste? Well, there is only one of the original dozen left…
you tell me!
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
organic nonstick cooking spray
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup skim milk
2/3 cup agave
1/2 cup organic canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
2 cup whole wheat flour
1 container fat free bluberry Chobani Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 capful good vanilla extract
generous sprinkle of sea salt (mine could have used more at around a tablespoon)
brown sugar
Directions:
Preheat over to 385 degrees and spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix eggs, milk, agave, oil, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Mix flours, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and sea salt in another bowl. A wooden spoon is sturdy and works really well! Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet, stirring just enough to combine all dry into wet. Mix in blueberries into batter. Using an ice cream scoop, generously fill muffin tin. This recipe makes just over 12 large muffins or about 24 regular sized. Really depends on how much batter you use for each one. Before baking, lightly sprinkle each muffin with brown sugar. Baking at 385 degrees for about 22 minutes.
I LOVE mine fresh from the oven!
