Blueberry Muffins

I love me some muffins.

They are probably the best vehicle for ingesting any type of fruit along with (the essential diet staple) sugar. Unlike the various types of loaves (banana, zucchini, pumpkin, etc) there are no extra steps required for their enjoyment. Nothing is standing in the way of pure loveliness except a flimsy wrapper that can easily get torn off. In most cases you could probably just bite right through it, eat the entire thing whole, and get a bit of extra fiber in the process. Mine, however, are that type of food-safe silicone that enhances your baked goods, and not your breasts. And they are heart-shaped. They are the clear favourites out of my vast array of kitchen utensils (but don't tell that to the spatula or she'll flip).

Easy Blueberry Muffins (adapted from Cat Can Cook)

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup of vegetable oil (can be substituted with applesauce, but I used oil this time)

3/4 cup of milk (though I needed to add more due to the wheat germ)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix together dry ingredients. Break up the egg and whisk lightly in a separate bowl. Add the oil, milk, vanilla extract and mix well. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture all at once, and mix until it's JUST combined. (You don't want to over-mix your muffin batter or else they'll have a horrible non-muffiny texture. Like if gruel were solidified.) I added the wheat germ for some extra fibre/nutrition value, but it meant I had to add a teensy bit more milk to the batter so that it was the right consistency. It should be not too runny, but not too thick. You shouldn't be able to pour it like pancake batter. And lumps are fine. Leave them in there.

Add the blueberries to the batter and carefully fold them in. Scoop into muffin tins, either greased or lined with paper, or silicone baking cups dusted with flour. Mine are kind of large so I scooped the batter with my 1/4 cup measuring device.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Mine took about 22 minutes to get lightly browned. Let them cool for a minute or two and then either remove your cups from the cookie sheet and place them on a cooling rack, or overturn your muffin tin so they all topple out and put them somewhere to cool down. This way they won't continue to cook on a hot pan and you won't end up with burnt bottoms. This happened to me more than a few times. Embarrassing.

Enjoy your muffins as an awesome breakfast paired with a glass of milk (either the dairy, soy, or almond variety--whichever you prefer) or as a healthy snack. Well, healthier than most of the fruit-filled snack things you would get at a grocery store. And cheaper too! Now your tummy AND your wallet are happy.