Some people make New Year’s resolutions regarding weight loss, finances or their career path. This year, my resolutions are all about groceries. First, I’m not buying any meat until our freezers are empty of what we have. Second, I’m ditching as many packaged snacks as I can and baking more instead. I’ve made these muffins at least a half a dozen times in the past couple of weeks and I love that I can control the sugar content, my kids aren’t constantly throwing individual plastic wrappers in the trash and it’s WAY less expensive than packages snacks from the store. Plus, my house smells like a bakery and the moving meditation of baking helps slow down the pace of my day. I shared my go-to recipe on Minnesota Live this week – Blueberry Lemon Muffins – but feel free to swap out the flavors. Instead of a cup of blueberries and lemon zest/juice, I’ve used a cup of grated apple and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. I’ve also left the fruit out all together and added dark chocolate chips (not surprisingly, my 5 year old Franklin likes those the best). I think raspberry/white chocolate is up next. This recipe makes 18 of the blueberry lemon or apple cinnamon muffins, but only about 15 of the chocolate chip ones as the fruit takes up more real estate in the batter. No mixer, just a couple of bowls, a whisk and a wooden spoon and you’re good to go.

Blueberry-Lemon Snacking Muffins

Gather:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup avocado oil

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Cook:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, whisk the rest of the ingredients (except the blueberries). Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix until no flour is visible. Fold in the blueberries. Line 18 standard muffin cups with paper or silicone liners and spray with avocado oil spray. Divide batter into cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from pans and set on cooling racks. Enjoy!