To be honest, I’ve never really liked muffins.
I always looked at muffins as being too carby, too sugary, loaded with empty calories—
And most of the muffins I’ve had were pretty plain—and when I say plain, I mean like 90% batter, and 10% filling.
They were bland, had no flavor—and they skimped on all the good stuff that makes the muffin, you know what I mean??
Whether it be a blueberry, chocolate, apple crumb, whatever kind of muffin it is—-I’ll bite into it, and I’ll just get like one or two measly, little blueberries in that one huge bite. The rest was plain, unflavorful muffin batter.
It’s like, “what the heck man?! Where’s all the flavor?!”
Simply, not enough, in my opinion.
Well, this next recipe is gonna change all of that.
I’m taking a regular blueberry muffin, and enhancing them to the Nth degree.
We’re gonna be adding more flavor, more filling, more protein, more nutrients…
It’s like the equivalent of skinny ol’ Steve Rogers transforming into the super soldier, Captain America.
Or, like Bruce Banner turning into the Incredible Hulk.
In my eyes, this is essentially, how a blueberry muffin SHOULD have been from the very beginning.
And I think the results….. are super spectacular.
So….without further adieu….
Enter….the ULTIMATE Blueberry Protein Muffins!!
Fully-loaded with wild blueberries, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter, and cinnamon….
jam-packed with muscle-building whey protein…..
high in fiber and antioxidants….
and naturally-sweetened with bananas and monk fruit….
Now, this is a blueberry muffin.
Nutritious. Loaded with flavor.
In every….single…bite.
You couldn’t ask for a better blueberry protein muffin than this…..
YOW-ZA!!
One thing I’m sure you’ll really like about these muffins is….
NO refined flours, NO granulated sugars, and NO butter is used in the batter! That’s right—
1) Instead of all-purpose flour, the most common flour used to make muffins, I use almond flour.
It provides excellent nutritional value—-high in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants—all purpose flour provides NONE of this.
And also, according to the Diabetes Education Online website, “because fiber is a type of carbohydrate your body can’t digest, it does not affect your blood sugar levels. You should subtract the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate.”
Generally, almond flour contains 5 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of fiber per serving. Taking this into account, this means that almond flour only has 2 grams net carbs per serving! Much leaner than all-purpose, and leaner than other commonly used flours like, whole wheat flour or oat flour!
More excellent info on almond flour can be found here.
2) I use monk fruit sweetener instead of granulated sugar.
Most muffins add some type of sugar into their recipes, like brown sugar, table sugar, or coconut sugar, but these options are all super high in sugars/carbs, and we all know how bad sugars are no matter how you slice it.
Monk fruit sweetener is a fantastic substitute for regular white/cane/table/coconut sugar. Monk fruit sweetener is the juice collected from the monk fruit, and it is similar in appearance to regular table sugar.
The main difference—it’s about 200 times sweeter than sugar, but with zero calories, and zero carbs. You can sub it in at a 1:1 ratio for regular sugar.
I personally love this stuff! And I use it in most of my “sweet” recipes ever since I found out about it.
More detailed information about monk fruit can be found here.
3) I sub in peanut butter instead of butter.
I use peanut butter in these muffins to not only add that delicious, nutty flavor, and not just because of its high protein/nutrient content (about 7g protein, 12g unsaturated fats, 3g fiber per 2 tbsp serving), but also because it adds “healthy” fats and oils that help keep these muffins moist, which locks in its flavor.
For decades, butter has been known to be detrimental to your overall health because of its high saturated fat and calorie content. It seems to be making a comeback of late, as current research may suggest otherwise (Dr. Axe has a great article on the benefits of grass-fed butter, check it out here), but there’s no denying that its high fat content may not be that good for you.
Here are the nutritional benefits of the main ingredients of these ULTIMATE Blueberry Protein Muffins….
Blueberries are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and other nutrients, and are widely-considered as one of the world’s most nutritious foods. Numerous studies have shown these berries to maybe help fight cancer, fight inflammation, supportheart health, boost brain function, and its high fiber content helps promote healthy digestion.
Bananas are fully-loaded with potassium, a very important nutrient which has been shown to help support the body’s circulatory system, help move oxygen throughout our cells, and helps to lower high blood pressure. Bananas are high in fiber, which helps to keep our digestive system running smoothly and helps to remove toxins.
Cinnamon is widely considered as the most antioxidant-rich natural spice available on the planet. The antioxidants found in cinnamon are believed to maybe help fight cancer, protect cells from DNA damage, slow the aging process, and help fight disease. Cinnamon also contains certain compounds that have been known to maybe help fight off viruses and infections
Peanut butter, which is basically grounded up peanuts, contain about 8 grams of protein per ounce, this is more than all other nuts. Peanuts contain bioactives like flavonols and phenolic acids, that provide numerous health benefits. Studies have shown that resveratrol (found on the peanut skins), a bioactive found in only a few foods, may help lower the risks of cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.
OK, here’s what you’ll need…
And of course, a muffin pan. Like so….
Some quick notes before you get started…
-I use wild blueberries for this recipe because they’re much smaller in size versus regular blueberries, and you can fit a whole bunch more into every single muffin. But feel free to use regular blueberries if you wish. Fresh or frozen will work.
–Wild blueberries are usually only found in the frozen section and not sold fresh.
-you can sub 1/2 cup applesauce instead of the banana.
-once you pour the batter onto the muffin pan, add more blueberries on top before you place it in the oven!
-Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge. Best if consumed within 3-4 days. I like to re-heat them back up in the microwave, it’s just like they’re fresh out the oven!
If you like these, then you gotta check out my….
- Blueberry Amaretto Protein Donuts
- Dark Chocolate Blueberry Hazelnut Protein Bars
- Acai Blueberry Protein Waffles
Alright then, let’s get to it!!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
muffins
|
- 1 1/8 cup almond flour
- 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp monk fruit sweetener (or erythritol natural sweetener)
- 1 large banana
- 1 whole egg
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cup wild blueberries (frozen)
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat oven to 375.
- In mixing bowl, add flour, protein powder, cinnamon, baking powder, monk fruit sweetener. Mix thoroughly.
- In separate larger bowl, mash banana with a fork. Add eggs, almond extract, peanut butter. Mix thoroughly.
- Gradually pour dry ingredient bowl contents into larger wet ingredient bowl, while mixing. Mix until fully incorporated. Fold in dark chocolate chips, blueberries.
- Line muffin pan with baking cups. If not available, grease muffin pan with olive oil. Using spoon, add batter into each muffin section, at least 2/3 full, or fill to the top. Should make about 7-8 muffins.
- Bake in oven for about 18-21 minutes, or until toothpick down the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Enjoy!
-I use wild blueberries for this recipe because they're much smaller in size versus regular blueberries, and you can fit a whole bunch more into every single muffin. But feel free to use regular blueberries if you wish. Fresh or frozen will work.
-Wild blueberries are usually only found in the frozen section and not sold fresh.
-you can sub 1/2 cup applesauce instead of the banana.
-once you pour the batter onto the muffin pan, add more blueberries on top before you place it in the oven!
-Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge. Best if consumed within 3-4 days. I like to re-heat them back up in the microwave, it’s just like they’re fresh out the oven!
Did you try this recipe? How did it turn out for you?? I would love to hear from you! Sound off in the comments section below or use the social media buttons throughout the website. Enjoy!!
