I’ve become a big fan of sweetening foods with honey instead of sugar. That’s not always possible—nor does it always provide the desired taste. For instance, the flavor just doesn’t work when you add honey to some baked goods like pie, nor does it work, in my opinion, for drinks like coffee.

Several years back, when I started trying to make a few healthier choices to improve my body’s health, I started eating oatmeal daily, sweetening it with a tablespoon or so of honey instead of a refined, granulated brown sugar, which is the norm for most oats eaters. When I found this recipe for a blueberry muffin—blueberries being one of my favorite baked good ingredients—I was intrigued solely due to the use of honey instead of another sugar.

These muffins aren’t super sweet. I believe that makes them a great choice for breakfast. The honey and blueberries provide just enough sweetness to make them work. And each one works out to just about 200 calories, as long as you use a lower-fat milk than whole and you don’t make any significant additions). That’s great news considering many pre-packaged store-bought muffins carry nearly 500 calories apiece!

Sometimes it’s just not feasible to make a morning bowl of oatmeal when you’ve got places to go and things to do. If that’s you, and if you like oatmeal or blueberries or muffins, then this might be just the recipe you need in your life!

 

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

What You Need:

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw)

1 cup milk

1 cup oats

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

½ cup honey

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

What You Do:

1. Combine milk and oats. Set aside for 20 minutes to allow the oats to absorb the moisture.

2. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and spray a muffin pan or prepare cupcake liners. (No need to spray the liners)

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk melted butter, honey, egg and vanilla.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until well combined.

6. Add the oats mixture (with milk, not drained) and blueberries. Stir everything together.

7. Spoon the batter into your pan slots or liners, filling each about halfway.

8. Bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees.

9. Reduce to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.

10. OPTIONAL: Add a little sprinkle of cinnamon or oats, or a combination, to the tops of the muffins before baking.

Cool at least 5 minutes before serving. The longer you cool muffins, the less they’ll stick and come apart when removing them from a pan or liner.

You can keep these muffins at room temperature for a few days. After that, keep them in the fridge until they’re gone, if they last that long!