This post is sponsored by Love Child Organics. My Kitchen Love has been compensated monetarily and with product although all opinions remain my own.
These Mini Blueberry Buckwheat Muffins are supposed to be for babies and kids, but in addition to my kids addiction to them, I too have one. They’re moist, light, and have a sweet bran muffin-like flavour, without much sugar and are gluten-free! I love that they’re perfect snack-size for the kids and I have zero guilt sending them off to preschool as they are completely nut-free and abundant in key nutritional elements like iron and Vitamin C.
I’ve been using a lot of alternate flours when cooking and baking lately – especially buckwheat flour, spelt flour, and dark rye flour. I love the depth of flavours and heartiness they provide in homemade goods. In the case of these muffins, the buckwheat cereal and flour is perfectly balanced and sweetened by the fruit purée. Using infant cereal in muffins is a major win for those days when my baby is teething, unwell, or just won’t eat her healthier meals and needs that boost of iron that she just wouldn’t get otherwise.
I used 2 products from Love Child Organics: their Buckwheat + Chia Infant Cereal as well as their Apples/Bananas/Blueberries Fruit Purée Squeeze Pouch. The combination of these 2 products plus the blueberries is a winning combo. In addition to being organic, the infant cereal provides loads of iron, the purée gives kids the necessary Vitamin C, and the blueberries are those antioxidants with a good source of magnesium and Vitamin K. When it comes to pouches or cereal reading the label matters. I encourage all parents to read the labels and source the most nutritionally dense products they can.
One thing I’ve learned with my kids is that if I start them early with more nutritious foods like light rye bread, they never know any difference and eventually think white not so healthy bread (you know the one I’m talking about), is actually not tasty at all – because it doesn’t have any taste besides sugar. Start early and often is my rule of thumb. I’m at the point now where one of my kids hates really sugary foods. She actually won’t eat a sugar cookie which makes me equally proud and sad. I have a massive sweet tooth, but am finding myself grossed out by sugary coffee drinks (can’t do it at all any more) and find myself craving natural sugars like fruit versus the fake crappy kind like candy.
If buckwheat or blueberries aren’t yours or your kids thing, this Pear and Vanilla Muffin recipe is so kid-friendly and freezes extremely well (making it perfect to pull out of the freezer, warm up and use on those days where you need something to fall back on). It would be perfect for Love Child Organics First Pears Purée in lieu of the baked and puréed pears it calls for.
What do I love best about this recipe besides its nutritional content and scrumptious taste? Facts like that it is one bowl, contains no butter that I need to allow to soften, and no electric mixer all have my attention.
This recipe calls for 1/4 cup of thick Greek yogurt. If there is any dairy intolerance or allergies any milk alternate products (soy or almond milk for examples) will work in the quantity of 3 tablespoons. * (Updated on January 24th, 2017) My best friend took this recipe for a ride the day before it was published and made it with 3 tbsp of breast milk in lieu of any yogurt – her 10 month old got pretty upset when she told him they were all gone after he ate 5 of them for dinner. So … breast milk works for this recipe and it would be a great way to get more nutritional value in there.
*** Please note that you can substitute honey for sugar in this recipe, but honey should NEVER be fed to a child under the age of 1 year as it can cause Infant Botulism.
- 1 x 128 ml / 1/2cup Love Child Organics Apples/Bananas/Blueberries Fruit Puree Pouch OR any Love Child Fruit Purée Pouch
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil such as liquid coconut oil, safflower oil or canola oil
- 1/4 cup organic sugar* or honey* do NOT feed honey to a child under the age of 1 year or skip all together
- 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup Baby's First Buckwheat + Chia Organic Infant Cereal
- 3/4 cup buckwheat flour OR spelt flour OR all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup blueberries frozen or fresh
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Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease (with a dab of oil, butter, or non-stick spray) a mini-muffin tin.
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In a medium bowl whisk together wet ingredients and sugar together (fruit purée, egg, oil, sugar, and yogurt).
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Sprinkle infant cereal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over top of wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula - batter can remain slightly lumpy.
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Add blueberries and quickly mix until just incorporated.
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Place heaping mounds of batter into mini-muffin tin and bake for 12-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean of a muffin. Let cool for 5-10 minutes in tray and then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.
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Mini-muffins will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days and in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
* sugar and honey are optional for mini muffins made for babies or children. The amount can be reduced or skipped entirely to suit your preferences.
Enjoy! xo
