A muffin makes a quick and easy breakfast when you're in a rush, but oversized baked goods can set you on the path for poor eating the rest of the day. Make your own muffins at home to save calories AND cash. (Scroll to the bottom of the post for a printable PDF version of the recipe!)

Original Recipe Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Milk
• Granulated sugar
• Butter/oil
• Eggs
• Salt
• Blueberries

Changes Made:

• All-purpose flour: Replaced with white whole wheat flour, which acts similarly to regular flour but has more fiber and nutrients
• Baking soda
• Milk: Specified to be skim milk
• Granulated sugar: Used brown sugar for extra moisture and richer flavor
• Butter/oil: Replaced with combination of vanilla Greek yogurt and mashed bananas to cut fat and calories while adding nutrition
• Eggs
• Salt
• Blueberries
• In place of streusel topping, added toasted chopped walnuts on top for crunch, flavor, and heart-healthy fat

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¾ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 large very ripe bananas, mashed
• ¼ cup nonfat vanilla greek yogurt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• ¾ cup skim milk
• 1 ¼ cup fresh blueberries*
• 6 tablespoons toasted walnut pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F degrees and spray muffin tin with nonstick spray. If using paper cups, do not spray the muffin tin but do make sure to spray the insides of the cups.
2. In a large bowl, gently toss the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together until combined. Make a well in the center and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together brown sugar, mashed banana, yogurt, egg, and milk.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the well formed in the dry ingredient bowl. Gently mix together and note that the batter will be thick. When there are still some pockets of flour, gently fold in the blueberries. Be careful to mix just until combined. There may be some small flour pockets remaining.
5. Divide the batter among the 12 compartments, then top each one with ½ tablespoon of walnuts. Bake for about 20 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Allow the muffins to cool completely.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container and enjoy within 4 days. Or, freeze and use within 3 months.

*You may also use frozen blueberries. Do not defrost and toss lightly in flour to prevent color bleeding.

Today's post was written by Leia Kedem. Leia Kedem, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian and Nutrition & Wellness Educator covering Champaign, Ford, Iroquois, and Vermilion Counties. She appears weekly on WCIA-3/WCIX-49 and is a biweekly contributor to the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette. She also maintains Facebook and Twitter accounts where she regularly posts health tips and answers nutrition questions for free.