These muffins are delicious and loaded with healthy nutritious ingredients. First up we have blueberries! Berries are the champions of boosting your body’s natural killer cell activity. These cells are a type of white blood cell that help your body fight virus-infected and cancerous cells. They are called natural killers because they don’t require prior exposure to the disease to be activated. Berries counteract, reduce, and repair oxidative stress and inflammation damage.
This brings us to the next super ingredient cardamom. This spice can increase killer cell activity. So when you pair blueberries with cardamom you may increase the number of circulating natural killer cells in the body as well as boost their cancer-killing instincts.
Next up we have chia seeds. These seeds may be small but they are rich in nutrients. Chia seeds promote heart health, support strong bones, and improve blood sugar management. Despite their tiny size chia seeds are packed with fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids. Like blueberries, chia seeds are full of antioxidants that neutralize free radicals that contribute to aging and diseases like cancer. I incorporated Nutiva organic chia seeds into this recipe via a chia egg that is a fantastic plant-based egg replacer. By incorporating chia seeds with water the seeds will expand into a gel-like substance that is a perfect binder in baked goods.
Then I continued to increase the fiber in this recipe by passing up the all-purpose flour and choosing whole wheat pastry flour. This added nutritional benefits while still keeping the batter light.
Finally, I have one more ingredient that boosts the flavor of this recipe and that is Nutiva Vanilla Coconut Spread. I have loved adding this spread to my baked goods in place of the oil. In my blueberry cardamom chia muffins, I omitted the coconut oil and added Nutiva’s vanilla coconut spread which has 5 grams of sugar or less per serving and delivers a delicious vanilla flavor to the muffins. I highly recommend you give it a try. I have also used the Nutiva almond coconut spread in my coconut almond vegan caramel corn recipe! You can’t go wrong with any flavor. They are all delicious!
Whole Wheat Blueberry Cardamom Chia Muffins
Equipment
- muffin pan
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Nutiva chia seeds
- 5 Tbsp water
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour plus 1 tsp for blueberries
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ cup Nutiva vanilla coconut spread
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup vegan Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup frozen wild blueberries
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar for topping optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and grease muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups
- In a small bowl combine chia seeds and water and allow to sit to form the chia eggs
- In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom and whisk to mix together
- In a medium mixing bowl combine melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and chia egg mixture and whisk together
- To the wet ingredients continue to add vegan Greek yogurt and vanilla and whisk to combine
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spoon to mix just until combined
- In a small bowl combine blueberries with 1 tsp of flour to help them not sink to the bottom of the batter
- Gently fold the blueberries into the batter
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups and top with a sprinkle of coconut sugar if using
- Bake in the oven for 16 – 18 minutes or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean
- Place the muffin tin on a wire rack to cool and then gently remove the muffins
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @anothervegan.foodblog on Instagram and hashtag it #anothervegan.foodblog.