As I am sure you could tell from my last two posts quite some time ago, Zach and I were off work recently on our second and final of the two vacations the military allows him per year. While I would love to report that I instantly awakened on the first morning of our break feeling relaxed and refreshed, I confess it was harder for me to unwind that anticipated. I keep writing work related emails, and having to resist the temptation to log into my office network to do work remotely. Finally, when we were still at home and I had already packed every possible item for our road trip, and I still just didn't know what to do with myself, I baked muffins. It had been far too long since I last baked muffins. Muffins are oh so soothing, comforting, and grounding.
These muffins were adapted from a recipe gifted from my friend Alyssa, and I love how adaptable they are. The recipe as I prepared it isn't very sweet, so I recommend adding more sugar if you prefer stand-alone, more dessert-like muffins. As written, they are perfect with a dollop of peanut butter or jam. If you liked you could even leave the sugar out all together, and you would have tangy, quick bread style muffins.
Apparently, muffins were exactly what it took to remind me of how fortunate I was to have time away from work to spend in peace and quiet...
Berry Lemon Muffins
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup almond milk
2 T lemon juice
1/2 cup canola oil
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups frozen mixed berries (not thawed)
~ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
~ Whisk together the sugar, lemon zest, almond milk, lemon juice, and canola oil, egg whites, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
~ Gently stir in the flour.
~ Fold in the berries.
~ Fill prepared muffin cups with the batter, and bake for 25 minutes - until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy warm or cool!
