Morning Glory Muffins
These Morning Glory muffins are full of everything you'd expect in the bakery favorite-carrots, apple and raisins, topped with nuts and toasted wheat germ. If raisins aren't your favorite, substitute an equal amount of the dried fruit of your choice.
Lemon-Raspberry Muffins
The secret to the sparkling flavor of these delicately crumbed muffins is the strips of lemon zest finely ground into the sugar. Enjoy the muffins warm right from the oven.
Blueberry-Lemon Crumb Muffins
Blueberries and lemon are a natural pairing in these light and airy muffins with a delicate brown sugar crumble. If you like an extra blast of lemon flavor, use lemon extract rather than vanilla. These muffins are best with fresh blueberries, but you can substitute with frozen. Don't thaw them before you stir them into the batter.
Two-Ingredient Dough
Containing just two ingredients--self-rising flour and Greek yogurt--this healthy dough is a snap to make! It is exceptionally versatile; you can use it to make pizza and even bagels (see associated recipes). To make this dough whole-wheat or gluten-free, make your own self-rising flour by adding baking powder and salt to your favorite whole-wheat or gluten-free flour (see Tip).
Banana-Bran Muffins
By the end of the week, any bananas left in the fruit bowl are past their prime--just right for these moist bran muffins. Add a handful of dark chocolate chips to entice children to enjoy a fiber-rich treat.
Lemon-Poppy Seed Scones
No bakery degree required for this recipe: these healthy lemon-poppy seed scones are as easy to make as a batch of muffins. White whole-wheat flour adds a boost of fiber, and just enough butter gives them great flavor and texture without going overboard on calories. For a sweeter scone, drizzle with the optional scone glaze.
Lemon-Cranberry Muffins
These lemony cranberry-studded muffins crunch lightly with cornmeal and are topped with a kiss of sugared lemon zest. They're great warm from the oven, but also keep well for a few days and freeze beautifully.
Honey Oat Quick Bread
This honey-oat bread has a pleasant flavor and divinely moist, tender crumb. It requires minimal mixing and cleanup, calls for ingredients usually stocked in the pantry, and is tasty yet healthful. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.
Pineapple Coffee Cake
Nonfat plain yogurt stands in for sour cream to add moisture and tenderness to this lightened-up pineapple coffee cake. Best of all, you can mix the batter and have this wholesome breakfast treat in the oven in under 15 minutes--that's healthy in a hurry.
Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
To improve the nutritional profile of pizza, use half whole-wheat and half all-purpose flour, which yields a light crust with a distinctive nutty taste. Quick-rising yeast shortens rising time to just 10 minutes, making homemade pizza a possibility for busy weeknights. Use a food processor, stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or your hands to mix the dough. Add enough liquid to the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. If kneading by hand, toss, rather than push, the dough onto the counter for about 10 minutes; this allows the gluten to develop without incorporating too much flour.
Vegan Banana Bread
Mashed bananas, flaxseed meal and almond milk make this healthy vegan banana bread deliciously moist and tender. While this quick and easy bread might be eggless and dairy-free, it's just as delicious as traditional versions. Add bittersweet chocolate chips for a decadent treat.
Whole-Wheat Sourdough Bread
Re-create fresh artisan sourdough bread to rival your local bakery--at home! This simple blend of whole-wheat flour, sourdough starter, sea salt and water produces bread with a tart, melt-in-your-mouth taste perfect for sopping up sauces, eating as toast or making into a sandwich.
