Recipe: Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins (low fat, using applesauce)

WHOLE WHEAT BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup nonfat buttermilk*
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries**

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, applesauce and egg. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry mixture, stirring until it is just combined (do not over mix). Lightly stir in the blueberries. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake until the tops are golden, 20-25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Then transfer the muffins to cooling rack. Serve warm.

To freeze the muffins:
Store them in a zipper-lock storage bag and they will keep for up to a month. To reheat frozen muffins in the microwave, wrap them in a paper towel and heat on high for 30 seconds.

*If you do not have buttermilk you can use one cup of nonfat yogurt instead or make your own buttermilk by mixing one cup of nonfat milk with one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.

**Tossing unthawed frozen blueberries with two tablespoons of flour before adding them to the batter helps to keep them from turning the batter purple while the muffins bake.

Per muffin: 112 Calories, 3 g Total Fat (<1 g Saturated Fat), 19 g Carbohydrates, 3 g Protein, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 262 mg Sodium.

Makes 12 muffins
Source: American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR)