Recipe Friday - Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins

Last week blueberries were on sale at my grocery store. Four pints for $5!!! I wanted to make blueberry muffins but last time I did, they turned out awful. I think I've honestly tried half a dozen recipes and none of them met my expectations.... until NOW! Thanks to Martha Stewart (she'll never let you down) I made the BEST blueberry-banana muffins ever! Seriously, my kids couldn't get enough of them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ (I used ground flax seeds instead)
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat (2 percent) milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen blueberries (I used a pint of fresh blueberries- YUMMY)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.
3. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.
4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

Blueberry Orange Popsicles

I'm sure you've all noticed how freakin' hot it's been all week (I think we've had record highs and I love it!) and unfortunately our pool isn't open yet (if you could see me now, you' see my sad face). We're having problems with the plumbing and might need to dig it all up and repair it, which will take a while. Just ask Dave how he feels about having a pool and he'll gladly tell you how much he despises it, more than he despises car alarms (he really hates car alarms). So, without a pool to cool off in, my family has been searching for other ways. The best, most delicious way? Blueberry Orange Popsicles! My kids love Astro Smooth and Fruity Blueberry yogurt, like really, we go through a couple tubs a week, so I thought it would be fun to freeze it. Blueberries are full of antioxidants and vitamins, orange juice is full of vitamin C, and yogurt has calcium. It's the perfect, fun way to enjoy a healthy frozen treat!

Directions

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup of orange juice - make the frozen concentrate kind with 2 cans of water instead of 3
1 cup of Astro Smooth and Fruity yogurt

Throw everything in a blender until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for 3 + hours.

ENJOY!