Recipe:
Yogurt substitutes for oil and butter in these moist and flavorful muffins. This swap makes this recipe low in calories, while using one of my Top 10 beauty foods, yogurt. Yogurt is a great source of protein, which keeps skin healthy and hair and nails strong. Yogurt also keeps your teeth sparkling because it is an excellent source of calcium and phosphorus. These muffins also contain another one of my Top 10 beauty foods, blueberries. Blueberries are rich in antioxidants and have anti-aging effects in the body.
These muffins are very moist from the yogurt and applesauce, and have a texture similar to a cupcake. (Note: You can use Greek yogurt in place of regular yogurt but the muffins will be slightly more dense). You can also use 1% milk in place of almond milk.
Kids will love that they can eat the raw batter because there are no eggs in the recipe. Using a silicone muffin tray is helpful, because the muffins stick to paper liners for a few hours after baking even if you spray them with nonstick cooking spray.
Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup lemon juice
3⁄4 cup unsweetened almond milk
3⁄4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1⁄2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, lemon juice, almond milk, yogurt, applesauce, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry mixture and stir until combined but do not overmix. Fold in the blueberries. Fill a silicone cupcake tray with the batter, filling each well about 3⁄4 full with batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool.
Yields: 12 servings
Per serving: 126 calories, 2.9 g protein, 28.1 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 12.7 g sugars, 0.4 g fat, 0.1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0.9 mg cholesterol, 117.7 mg sodium, 179.3 mg calcium, 0 g omega-3 fats, 46.4 IU vitamin A, 9.5 mg vitamin C, 0.4 mg vitamin E, 0.9 mg iron, 0.1 mg zinc
Lisa Drayer, M.A., R.D.,
is the author of THE BEAUTY DIET and STRONG, SLIM, and 30! For more of Lisa’s Beauty Bites, visit www.lisadrayer.com.