Blueberry-licious!

Yesterday I purchased some huge organic blueberries from the market and I have to tell you, I felt like I was eating candy for breakfast this morning. I told my sons, “Back in the “olden days” these blue “babies” were like candy! You should try them.” Before I knew it, they were playing catch with large blueberries, popping them in their mouths, like “goals” at a hockey game!

With boys, nothing surprises me, but what does surprise me is how delicious this Food Flirt Friday Banana-Blueberry Mini Muffin recipe from The Stevia Cookbook is. With blueberries abound at every farmer’s market, take advantage of it-there’s nothing like locally grown fresh blueberries. Purchase extra pints and freeze them right away to capture their freshness for your wintertime recipes. You’ll thank me later!

*Important point about cooking with Stevia:
The most important thing to remember is not to use too much, which can result in excessive sweetness and an aftertaste. Always start with the exact amount called for in a recipe, or even a little less, then taste before you add any more. Stevia is delicious in almost any recipe using fruit or dairy products, but does present a bit of a challenge when used for baking, since it lacks sugar’s abilities to add texture, help soften batter, caramelize, enhance the browning process, and feed the fermentation of yeast. On the other hand, one of the excellent facets of stevia is that high temperatures do not affect its sweetening properties.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (organic if available)
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 ripe, medium-sized bananas
1/4 teaspoon white Stevia Powder (can be purchase online or at most natural foods grocery stores and markets)
1 cup buttermilk, or kefir
8 tablespoons unsalted (sweet) butter, melted
2 large egg whites
1 cup fresh blueberries (or 1 cup thawed frozen blueberries)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 400*F
In a large bowl, sift together the four and baking soda, and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until they reach a lumpy consistency. Add the stevia to the buttermilk, and combine with the bananas. Gently stir in the melted butter.
Using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the banana mixture.
Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Do not over stir. Gently fold in the blueberries and walnuts .
Scoop the batter into a lightly oiled or papered mini muffin tin. Fill each cup with a heaping tablespoon of batter, and bake for about 12 minutes. When toothpick comes out clean, muffins are done. Let cool and ENJOY! Makes about 24 muffins