better blueberry muffins

I'm always looking for on-the-go breakfast ideas because generally, I work in the morning.  On the days where I drag myself out of bed even earlier than necessary in order to get a good run in before work, I usually don't have time to make a breakfast that is either a) portable (i.e. cereal & milk) or b) filling enough (i.e. bagel thins) and so I inevitably get a breakfast taco at a small cafe near work.  This doesn't bode well for my bank account since I almost always end up with coffee or a smoothie in addition to the breakfast taco.  SO...one recipe I came across about a year ago in a magazine (which I cannot for the life of me remember the name), was for "Better Blueberry Muffins."  Muffins; perfect for the grab-and-go!  I love blueberry muffins, but often find the ones made at cafes are so, so sugary, to the point that they make my teeth hurt.  Well, this recipe has the perfect amount of sugar! No more teeth-hurting blueberry muffins :)  They can serve as a little after dinner dessert as well.

Better Blueberry Muffins

Yields 12 muffins

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

For the Muffins

1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

½    cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar, divided

½    cup quick cooking oats (not instant)

2     teaspoon baking powder

½    teaspoon baking soda

½    teaspoon salt

¾    cup plus 2 tablespoons low fat buttermilk

1     large egg

2     tablespoon canola oil

1     teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups fresh blueberries, washed and dried

For the Topping

¼    cup blueberry all-fruit spread (I used St. Dalfour's Wild Blueberry 100% fruit spread)

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Combine flour, ½ cup of the sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  In another bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg, oil, and vanilla.  Toss blueberries with flour mixture.  Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir gently.  Line a 12-count muffin pan with paper liners (or spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray).  Divide batter evenly; sprinkle with remaining sugar.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until tops are just set.  Remove pan from oven; top each muffin with 2 teaspoon fruit spread.  Bake 3 to 5 minutes more or until golden.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and serve.

Nutrition

per serving (1 muffin):

173 calories, 4g fat, <1g saturated fat, 31g carbs, 4g protein, 3g fiber, 46mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 215mg sodium, 8g sugar

(vs. Starbucks Blueberry Muffin; 360 calories, 10g fat, 5g saturate fat, 64g carbs, 6g protein, 600mg sodium, 34g sugar)