Berry Good Muffins

Even though I've been down since Thursday evening's surgery, I managed to make some muffins yesterday.  I had quite a few berries that looked like if I didn't either eat them or use them they were going to have to be thrown out -- and that would be a shame.  This is also my submission to Sweetnick's ARF/5-a-day.  This is a great recipe for breakfast -- healthy, low calorie, low sodium and delicious.  I would think you could also use bananas in this which I may do next time (I often have more overripe bananas in the house than berries).  This time I used a mixture of blackberries, raspberries and chopped strawberries.

Berry Almond Quick Bread
(courtesy of Eating Well)

• Quick-Bread Dry Mix (recipe follows)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 C nonfat buttermilk (see Tips)
• 2/3 C brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp.s butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp.s canola oil
• 1 Tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ Tsp. almond extract
• 2 C fresh or frozen berries (whole blueberries, blackberries, raspberries; diced strawberries)
• ½ C chopped toasted sliced almonds (see Tips), plus more for topping if desired

1. Preheat oven to 400°F for muffins, mini loaves and mini Bundts or 375°F for a large loaf. Coat pan(s) (see "Pan Options") with cooking spray.
2. Prepare Quick-Bread Dry Mix.
3. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, butter, oil, vanilla and almond extract in a large bowl until well combined.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add berries and almonds. Stir just to combine; do not overmix. Transfer batter to the prepared pan(s). Top with additional almonds, if desired.
5. Bake until golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes for muffins or mini Bundts, 35 minutes for mini loaves, 1 hour 10 minutes for a large loaf. Let cool in the pan(s) for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Let muffins and mini Bundts cool for 5 minutes more, mini loaves for 30 minutes, large loaves for 40 minutes.

Tips
Store, individually wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
No buttermilk? Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1 cup milk.
To toast walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts, spread nuts onto a baking sheet and bake at 350°F, stirring once, until fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes. To toast sliced almonds, cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 215 calories; 7 g fat (2 g sat, 3 g mono); 41 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 3 g fiber; 182 mg sodium.  (makes 12 servings)

Pan Options
Each of these recipes will make:
1 large loaf (9-by-5-inch pan)
3 mini loaves (6-by-3-inch pan, 2-cup capacity)
6 mini Bundt cakes (6-cup mini Bundt pan, scant 1-cup capacity per cake)
12 muffins (standard 12-cup, 2 1/2-inch muffin pan)

Quick-Bread Dry Mix
Makes 2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces)

• 1 ½ C whole-wheat pastry flour (see Ingredient note) or whole-wheat flour
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ Tsp.s baking powder
• 1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ Tsp. baking soda
• ¼ Tsp. salt

1. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Tips
To make ahead: Stores nicely in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Ingredient note: Whole-wheat pastry flour, lower in protein than regular whole-wheat flour, has less gluten-forming potential, making it a better choice for tender baked goods. You can find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer.