BLUEBERRY OATMEAL MUFFINS

We eat muffins quite often for "dessert," since we try to avoid sugary treats and I can cut down quite a bit on the sweetening.  I have tweaked several old favorite muffin recipes to make them healthier.  This is one of them.  Budget-friendly tip:  If you have to avoid using egg yolks, use egg whites instead of  pricier commercial egg substitute in baked goods.  Eggs keep a full two weeks past the "sell by" date, so you can often keep them for 3-4 weeks in the fridge.

 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup whole (old-fashioned) oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt (opt.)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (If using frozen, do not thaw.)

2 egg whites or 1 whole egg

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

2/3 cup fat free milk, almond milk, or soy milk

1/4 cup honey or agave

1 teaspoon pure lemon or vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, soda, nutmeg, cinnamon,  and salt.  Stir in blueberries.  In another bowl, whisk together egg whites or egg, applesauce, oil, milk, honey or agave, and extract.  Stir into dry ingredient mixture just until combined.  Fill oiled muffin cups about 3/4 full.  Bake at 400 degrees about 15 minutes or until they test done.  Remove from pans.  Makes about one dozen standard size muffins.