Whole Wheat Blueberry Banana Muffins

I told you I'm on a muffin craze. I love everything with whole wheat. And not just because it's much healthier for me, but because I truly appreciate that nutty, hearty taste. So when I saw muffins made with JUST whole wheat flour (instead of the normal 1/2 and 1/2 proportions), I was so excited to try them! Then Earthfare tossed me a free pint of blueberries a couple weeks ago and it was a done deal. :)

Whole Wheat Blueberry Banana Muffins
from Daily Garnish
makes 12 muffins

• 2 cups whole wheat flour 
• 1 Tb. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg or flax egg (1 Tb. ground flax with 3 Tb. water)
• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened soy)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

I originally made these with the flax egg. I like using flax eggs while baking because flax seeds are a complete protein packed with omega 3s, antioxidants, and both soluble and insoluble fiber! However, they were kind of dry (which could have been because my banana wasn't very ripe the first time) so this past weekend, I made them again with a real egg. There were definite textural differences. The vegan ones weren't bad, I just preferred the texture of the ones made with the egg. Up to you! (The pictures are the vegan version.)

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine ground flax and water and set aside (if using flax egg).

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars.

Mash banana with a fork and combine with vanilla, milk, and egg. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine until just incorporated. Do not over mix!

Gently fold in blueberries. The first time I made these with fresh and the second time with frozen (not thawed!) and both worked well.

Divide batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until tops are turning golden brown.

Nutritional information (for 1 vegan muffin): 134 calories, 1g fat (0.1g sat), 30g carbs (3.3g fiber), 3.5g protein

Nutritional information (for 1 regular muffin): 138 calories, 1g fat (0.3g sat), 30g carbs (3g fiber), 4g protein

As you can see, the nutritional information barely varies for the vegan one (flax egg) or the regular one (chicken egg). These muffins are tasty and filling, which is exactly what I look for in a muffin. My breakfasts have to fill me up until lunch or they don't make the cut! I preferred the frozen blueberries to the fresh ones only because they were smaller. That sounds weird, I know, but I prefer to have more, small blueberries in each muffin as opposed to a few, larger blueberries.

In workout news, I'm still truckin along with my long workouts. I've scaled back on the use of Jillian DVDs (not because I don't love her!) and amped up my time in the "weight room". The weight room is in the second bedroom and it has the weight bench in it. So I have switched to doing "heavy" weights three times a week. So far I'm benching approx 45 lbs (25 + the bar, which is about 20) and curling about 10 lbs (10 + the bar, which is probably only 1-2). Small, I know, but I love the way it makes me feel! Plus, it's so easy to see improvements when weight training. The reps become easier, or you can increase the weight. It's. just. so. rewarding.

SCORE! Since my post two weeks ago, that's 1.5 lbs a week...which I am extremely excited about! And the best part is noticing the changes in how my clothes fit. I can tell that the weight training is really helping there.  Still having trouble with abs though. I found a couple pilates ab workouts on YouTube that I'll be trying tonight. My main problem with abs is that they're weak...like really weak. But it seems that no matter how consistently I train or how hard I push myself, I'm never sore the next day. Which I know isn't everything but if I'm pushing it THAT hard, shouldn't I feel something if it's working??

Do you feel like it wasn't as good a workout when you can't "feel" it the next day?
It depends. If it's something I've been doing a while, like running, then I don't expect to feel it the next day. But if I amp up my speed or train an area that I'm not strong in (ABS!), then I do expect to feel it...and it's kinda disheartening when I don't (ABS!).

How have you been doing on your goals for the week/month?
I'm super proud with my progress so far! Hoping I can keep it up ;)