Blueberry health muffins

These were very good. Moist, not too sweet and great warm out of the oven. The boys even liked them! Hopefully they'll be good tomorrow as well - we'll see if they get left behind in the lunch bags.

Adapted from the recipe as it appears on the Whole Living website. It makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ (see note)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3/4 cup 1% milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup rolled oats

Note: Toasted wheat germ can be hard to find, at least it is near me in Canada. I used to buy it in the jar but now all I can find is untoasted wheat germ in a bag. Quick fix - toast it yourself. Use a moderate oven (350-375), spread the wheat germ thinly on a cookie sheet (don't use the whole bag, do a couple of cups at a time), and watch closely. Don't walk away! Stir and/or shake the pan often and it should be done in under 5 minutes. It toasts very quickly - watch for browning around the edges. You are trying to get a nice golden brown all over. I keep my toasted wheat germ in a big mason jar in the fridge beside my jar of ground flax see and sprinkle both on yogurt, cereal and porridge.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray or line with paper muffin cups. In a bowl, whisk together whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of the toasted wheat germ, baking powder, salt, and the 2/3 of a cup of brown sugar. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients all at once. Gently mix until just combined. Fold in the blueberries just until distributed. Do not over mix.
2. Divide batter among the muffin cups. Combine 2 tbsp. toasted wheat germ, 1 tbsp. brown sugar (I substituted organic raw cane sugar), and rolled oats in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over tops of muffins. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let sit in pan 10 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack to cool.

Note: The bottoms browned more than I liked because I was out of liners. But it did not affect the taste. Next time I'll use liners or cut back a minute or so on the time.

The finished product.