Superfood Breakfast Treats: Blueberry Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

I am still experimenting with my recently purchased Chia seeds and wanted to try them in baked goods. Power-packed with tons of Omega-3s and fiber, (read my post about drinks made with Chia here for more details about these tiny nutrition powerhouses), these little seeds that you might be used to seeing sprouting green "hair" on a Chia pet, have a similar texture to a poppy seed when dry. I thought they would make a great replacement in a lemon-poppy seed muffin and having leftover big, ripe, fresh blueberries added in makes these little white-wheat muffins a tasty breakfast treat, full of good health. Since I was out of eggs and didn't want to run to the store, I looked at a couple of vegan muffin recipes for inspiration for this one.

Blueberry Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes 12 Muffins)

2 cups white-wheat flour + 1/8 cup for blueberries

2 Tbsp wheat germ

1 Tbsp baking powder

4 Tbsp Chia seeds

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup vanilla soy milk or your favorite milk replacement

1/3 cup agave syrup (or 1/2 cup sugar)

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 heaping cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 and prepare a muffin tin or cupcake pan by either greasing it lightly or using cupcake liners. In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients through salt, mixing together thoroughly. Making a well in the center, add soy milk, agave, lemon zest and juice, canola oil and vanilla. Mix gently until wet ingredients are moistened and mixed through. Mix blueberries carefuly with 1/8 cup flour so they are lightly coated and gently fold into the batter.

Fill the muffin tin with batter, about 3/4 full and bake for about 25 minutes, or until muffins are lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean of batter. Let cool about 15 minutes in pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Notes/Results: Really good! With the white-wheat flour, wheat germ and seeds, this is a hearty little muffin, but still moist and lightly sweet with all the blueberries. Because my blueberries were so sweet and ripe, I deliberately reduced the sweetener, using a half cup of agave syrup. With blueberries that are more tart, you may need a bit more sweetener and of course you can add whatever sweetener you like. I wasn't sure how baking would effect the texture of the Chia seeds, but they stay crunchy and do give the same effect as poppy seeds in a muffin. Good and good for you with all the healthy stuff packed in them, I will make these again.