Blueberry-Banana Muffins and Weekend Round Up

So, school officially starts 1 week from today, and so this past weekend, we spent all day Saturday school shopping, aka spending a ton of money.  I know things were less expensive when I was a kid, but now that I have to shop for my 3 kids, I really feel for my parents and don't know how they managed the back to school shopping thing with 5 kids.  So, many pants, shirts, notebooks, calculators, and pencils later, I think we're ready. This week we'll be going to bed earlier and getting up at regular school time to get ourselves ready.  And thus it begins...

By the way, the freezer pop molds I bought work great. I think that they will be a cool addition to our school lunch/after school snack routine, and a great way for me to use left over smoothies. I made a strawberry banana  blend that my smoothie loving child loved.  My next batch will be very vanilla to accommodate a picky eater's tastes. The good thing about these tubes is that they are easy to push up and very compact. I didn't notice any weird smell or taste due to the silicone, and my tops stayed on perfectly.


Muffins are big in my house. We love them for breakfast and snacks. I found a muffin recipe when reorganizing my recipe book that I got from my beautiful sister, Tricia, years ago. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from or even if I have the exact recipe, but they are a hit in my house. They are moist and delish.

Blueberry Banana Muffins

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2-3/4 c sugar (I use 1/2 heaping cup)
1/4 c ground flax
1 tsp each baking soda and baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)
1 c min frozen blueberries ( I use Trader Joe's brand Organic Wild  Blueberries.  Add them last.)
1 mashed banana
1 c skim milk
1 egg
1 Tbsp vegetable oil oil or unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray.

Add flour  through walnuts in a bowl and mix.

In another bowl, whisk banana through vanilla.

Next, add frozen blueberries to dry ingredients and mix gently just to coat.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir gently to mix.

Put into muffin tins and bake for 15-18 minutes till done (test with a toothpick) and browned on top.  Makes 12 muffins.

Let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from pan.