It is that time of year again where I begin to gather ideas for baked treats to stick in my kid’s lunchboxes and for after school snacks.  I always wanted to be that mom that packed an amazing lunch filled with homemade goodness, handwritten notes, and power foods that would get my child’s day started right. Sometimes I am that mom. Sometimes I am not.

It isn’t because I want to be superior over other mothers, but simply because I just know how good I feel when I have the right snacks in my corner for the day.

I want that for them too.

They deserve a little of that.

With blueberries already popped in the freezer from our berry picking last month, I decided to put them to good use in our home and made these Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins for a fun midday snack and to add to my snack ideas list for their lunchboxes this year.

These have everything I want in a good muffin- whole wheat flour, wheat germ, blueberries, bananas, and a little bit of sweetness. The muffin is light with bursts of berries throughout. If  blueberries aren’t your favorite things, you can halve the amount of blueberries, or even cut fresh blueberries in half like our Baked Blueberry Donuts with the Lemon Glaze. The toasty wheat germ on top adds a little bit of texture to the top that keeps to their healthy nature.

I have included a vlog from a long time ago that I made on creating a baking day in your house to save money and keep your grocery budget on track. It is hard to believe that this little girl in the video is now off to kindergarten this year. This vlog illustrates though one way that we save money in our family and incorporate healthy eating in our home by making a commitment to one day of baking each week.

Happy baking, everyone!

Recipe:

Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

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

2 tablespoons wheat germ, for sprinkling on top

Directions:

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. 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. 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. Divide batter among muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with a little wheat germ for an added crunch. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Serving Size: 12

Recipe Source: Adapted only slightly from the amazing Martha Stewart

What treats do you like to bake for your child’s lunchbox? Feel free to share links or ideas from your own recipe collection in the comments below!

It is no secret around here that baked donuts are a favorite thing in our house. We have tried everything from delicate chocolate donuts, to pumpkin donuts, to cake donuts, to gingerbread donuts.  The one thing I haven’t tried though is fruit-filled donuts and I have been dying to make these.  I found an evening of blueberry picking last week yielded the perfect fruit to marry my love for baked donuts with some delicious results.  Your life just might be transformed by these baked blueberry donuts.

Even though blueberries are a hit with me, this fruit is a miss with my son and husband.  I knew if I could make a blueberry lover out of them though, baked donuts would be the ticket. I can finally, in all honesty say, that these donuts were loved by even them, thanks to the lemon additions and halving the fruit for delicate bites of berries rather than bursts.

The glaze is so light, but filled with the powerful flavor of lemon throughout. The cake is light and fluffy with flecks of berries and more lemon zest throughout the fluffy batter. The accompaniment of these flavors is a perfect marriage of deliciousness in your belly, while remaining a surprisingly light snack for a morning or afternoon treat.

I can’t say more about these donuts or I may be forced in the kitchen to make another batch already.  If you have any Swagbucks, I would put them to work towards donut pans. My donut pans were purchased with a few Swagbucks that I had set aside and credited  towards an Amazon gift certificate to purchase them for free this year. I use these Norpro 6-count Nonstock Donut Pans for $12.99 each for our donut baking in our house.

They have been a priceless treasure in my kitchen and a fun new Saturday morning tradition for our family!

Recipe:

Baked Blueberry Donuts with a Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

2 cups cake flour (or 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup cornstarch)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
zest from 1 lemon
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup blueberries, halved

Lemon Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice (from the lemon you zested)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.  Add in the lemon zest and whisk this into your dry ingredients. Pour in the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla extract. Gently mix the ingredients together. Be careful not to over-mix the batter. Fold in the halved blueberries carefully. Lightly grease a doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully spoon the batter into the doughnut pan, filling each one halfway. Bake the doughnuts at 400 F for 8-9 minutes. The donuts will remain light in color, but should spring back when pressed.

For the glaze: Put the powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add in the lemon juice, milk and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. If the glaze is too thick, add additional lemon juice or milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Once the doughnuts are done baking, let them cool in the doughnut pan for 4 minutes. Carefully remove the donuts from the pan.  Dip one side of each doughnut in the glaze. Set the doughnuts on top of a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath. Allow the glaze on the doughnuts to dry and serve immediately with big glasses of ice cold milk.

Prep Time: 5-7 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Serving Size: 12 donuts

Don’t be bored with berries! Be sure to check out our eight inspirational recipes for the  blueberry season to get those juices (literally) going on a berry project in your kitchen!