Strawberry Rhubarb and Oat Muffins

Muffins are such a huge hit in my house.  We are baking up a batch of muffins twice a week for sure, sometimes even more.  Its often a fun activity to involve the kids in doing and have a delicious end result.  We make a different batch every time to try a new flavour or to use up an ingredient we have laying around (hello over ripe bananas!).  My kids love having muffins for breakfast or snack, and actually so do I.  We make some delicious sweet and savoury varieties.  We use nutritious ingredients such as whole grains, oatmeal, nuts and seeds as well as different combinations for fruit and / or vegetables. Some even have pureed lentils baked in to bump up the fibre and protein. The options are endless!

Of course, you could always buy store bought bakery muffins, which are convenient but can be huge in terms of portion sizes and tend to be more like a cake than a nutritious breakfast or snack food. Making muffins at home is such an easy task that relying on having a store bought muffin is likely unnecessary.  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a cake-like, treat muffin on occasion but a homemade muffin is not only delicious and nutritious but can be enjoyed often as a meal or snack.

These muffins are studded with ruby red strawberries and rhubarb.  The sweetness from the berries and tartness from the rhubarb complement each other well.  Both of these ingredients boast great nutritional benefits.  Strawberries are often a hit with little ones because of their sweetness factor and best of all they are full of wonderful nutrients like folate, vitamin C, potassium and fibre.  Rhubarb is a little on the tart side and often needs a little help from a sweet fruit like apples or strawberries to mellow its tart flavour.  Rhubarb is also a nutrition powerhouse with fibre, potassium, vitamin K and even bone building calcium!  This recipe uses a combination of whole wheat flour and oats which makes for a muffin with loads of fibre.  Fibre is great for filling up tummies and also for keeping little ones regular.

Baking these up together was a lot fun.  The best benefit though was everyone enjoying the fruits of their labour as a mid afternoon snack smothered with almond butter, while still warm. Such a big hit! 

Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Dry ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup brown sugar

Wet ingredients

¼ cup canola oil

¾ cup milk (any variety)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped strawberries and rhubarb (combined)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, grease or line 12- muffin tray

• In a small sized bowl, combine dry ingredients

• In a medium sized bowl, combine wet ingredients, reserve strawberries and rhubarb

• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mix until just combined

• Fold in strawberries and rhubarb

• Fill muffin cups with batter

• Bake for 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown and tester comes out clean