These “new and improved” muffins are loaded with sweet juicy blueberries which were cultivated and harvested in Switzerland, where I live. However, when it comes to fresh blueberries, I still prefer the smaller wild bush berries that grow in Canada and the USA.

I recently came across an old blueberry muffin recipe that I used to make 20 years ago when I was living in Toronto, Canada. I remember liking the recipe, but when I read through the ingredients, I decided to substitute some of the ingredients with healthier or vegan alternatives.

I took out the brown sugar, the white flour, the All-Bran boxed cereal, the buttermilk, the four eggs and the molasses. The only ingredients that remained the same were the blueberries, wheat bran and vegetable oil. Pretty tough to make muffins with those three ingredients alone! So I got to work looking for substitutes and am thrilled with the result.

These muffins are wholesome, healthy and absolutely delicious. They have no refined sugar; the blueberries, date paste, apple sauce and maple syrup give them a natural sweetness. For vegans, the Greek yoghurt in this recipe can be replaced with natural soy yoghurt.

You can enjoy these muffins as part of your breakfast, as a mid-day snack or for dessert. If you don’t like blueberries, you can use other berries or seasonal fruits. And, if you spot some small wild bush blueberries, go for those!

Here’s the recipe and bon appétit!

Blueberry muffins

Level: Easy

Makes a large batch: approx. 35 medium-size muffins. If need be, you can halve the ingredients for a smaller batch.

Oven: 190°C / 375°F

Dry ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 cups natural wheat bran
• 2 cups natural rolled oats
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped small
• A pinch of sea salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Wet ingredients

• 1 cup natural Greek yoghurt (no sugar added) –or- natural soy yoghurt for vegan
• 1 cup date paste*(see note)
• 1 1/3 cups unsweetened pure apple sauce
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup Omega-3 vegetable oil
• 3 cups blueberries

*Note: If you haven’t already made the date paste, put 15 Medjool pitted dates in a small bowl and add a little hot water, just enough to soften them. Heat this on high in the microvawe for half a minute or so. When soft, process the dates with the water with a handheld bender or in a small food processor until smooth. Keep any extra paste in a sealed glass jar in fridge.

Procedure

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, except the baking soda. In a separate small bowl, stir the baking soda and yoghurt together and set aside (the yoghurt will bubble). In a medium-size bowl, whisk or mix on low with electric beater the date paste, apple sauce, maple syrup and oil. Add the yoghurt to the wet ingredients and mix.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in liquid and mix until the wet and dry are combined. Add the blueberries and gently fold them into the batter.

Pour the batter into a muffin pan lined with parchment muffin cups and bake at 190°C / 375°F for 25 minutes. When done, let them cool. You can store the baked muffins in a container in fridge. They also freeze well.

Option: You can store the batter without the blueberries in a container with a tight fitting lid; it will keep for up to 6 weeks in fridge. Add the blueberries (or other fruit) when ready to bake a new batch of fresh muffins.