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Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, August 02, 2008

Mixing it Up: Blueberry-Orange Muffins

By John Haverty | Franciscan Skemp

I was reading one of my trade journals called Food Product Design and ran into an article about “superfruit.” Cited in the article were the benefits of clinically researched fruit, such as cranberries, bananas, tart cherries, pomegranates and blueberries. Also listed were exotic fruit, such as the goji berry, gac fruit, acai, guarana, mangosteen and noni.

All of these contain phytonutrients. Phyt or phyto is a prefix meaning plant, so plant-based foods that have any benefit to our bodies are phytonutrients. Phytonutrients contain chemical compounds that aid in the absorption of nutrients in the body. Blueberries qualify as a superfruit due to their high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory levels, as well as flavonoids such as anthocyanin that have the ability to reduce the effects of age-related loss of brain function. One study concluded that a diet high in blueberries was able to reverse brain deficits in aging animals and prevent memory loss in animals genetically altered to express Alzheimer’s disease.

All this time you thought blueberries were just great in muffins. High fat and sugar in standard recipes more than offsets any benefit that fruit might offer, but the recipe I have for you is a step in the right direction.

Blueberry-Orange Muffins

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

11/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg

1 large egg white

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

2 teaspoons orange zest, freshly grated

1/3 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

11/2 cup blueberries, fresh

1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray. Mix the flours, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk egg, white and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Add yogurt, orange zest, orange juice, oil and vanilla, whisk until blended.

Fold wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Add in the blueberries and fold gently. Spoon or scoop batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with the sugar and bake until tops are golden and spring back when touched lightly, about 20 to

25 minutes. Cool for a short period of time and eat warm.

Makes 1 dozen.

For more information about superfruits, check out the Web site www.naturalproductsinsider.com.

John Haverty, a certified executive chef at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center, writes a column every other week for the Food section. He can be reached at chefhaverty@yahoo.com.