Vegan Blueberry Jam Surprise Breakfast Muffins: The Chia Seed Experiment (And. . . Seeing Stripes, Finishing Stripes)

Sometimes when I bake muffins for breakfast, I actually want to have them for dessert . . . and then for breakfast, too. This muffin in particular taunted me. I've had a love affair with blueberries for as long as I can remember. I make blueberry jam whenever they're in season. I smother my pancakes with blueberries, put blueberries in smoothies, use frozen blueberries on my oatmeal in the morning. If there's a scientific link between the consumption of blueberries and one keeping their "wits" about them into old age, I'd be a perfect study participant for such work. Just check back with me in about twenty years. Maybe fifteen. Okay ten.

As I was writing down all the ingredients for making this muffin, I worried about sharing it. It was two columns long. Would this recipe be blog worthy? Then I had one for breakfast this morning. Yep. Totally blog worthy. Running through the middle of these is a moist ribbon of blueberry jam that bakes up into this delightfully yummy jammy surprise. For added flavor punch, there's some lemon zest. You could use orange zest, too. Don't let the ingredient list keep you from trying these. They are a cinch to whip together. No blender required. Just a couple of bowls and a spoon. They're packed with protein, fiber and omega-3s. I cut back on the sugar as well--no big "glycemic "overload" problems afterward. Bonus!

I'm in the middle of doing a little pantry cleaning. I have somehow come to have every flour imaginable: coconut, spelt, buckwheat, oat, white whole wheat, whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, cake, corn, kamut and teff! My seed situation is about as bad. This is the time of year I try to do a little more paring down of food stores. Seeds and flours are first on the list. My jams and jellies are next. 

Oh. . . and this humongous bag of chia seeds I bought at Costco a while back. I don't think I'll live long enough to use all the chia seeds we have in this house. 

Chia seeds mixed with water before they "expand into goo" used in place of two eggs. 

In my quest to "health up" the baking I've been doing lately, I wanted to give chia seeds a try: good source of protein, omega-3s, fiber and in vegan circles, touted as egg replacers. There's some enzyme action associated with them, too. Dr. Weil has written on the chia here. I was skeptical, but I'm all about wonder food stuff especially if they solve that crazy egg dilemma. 

It seems strange to have this ubiquitous little seed showing up in foods these days. My childhood was filled with the jingle, "Cha-cha-cha-chia!" and strange shaped animals growing out of clay pots with chia seeds plastered over them. Viola: Chia Pets! (It would be shortsighted of me to not also recall Pet Rocks here, too. The Baby Boomer Generation certainly contributed mightily to the promotion of companions.) 

Chia seed "goo".

Hello old friend, and. . . Yum!

Oh Mr. Macadamia, you can come to the party, too!

Me like very much: Sideways Ripples Shawl. 

Me LOVE! Ripple Throw. Stripey. Comfy. Snuggly. (Though about six inches too short for covering my Daddy Long Legs body just yet.) I probably have another ten inches left. I throw it over "half" my legs at night and just love looking at it. 

Hello spring. Please stay cold for a bit longer. But happy you are finally here. Sort of.

Vegan Blueberry Jam Surprise Breakfast Muffins

*makes six large breakfast muffins

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup oat flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/8 cup raw sugar (turbinado)

2 teaspoons chia seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons water

1 1/4 cup coconut milk (*add a bit more if the batter seems too thick)

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of half a lemon 

1/4 cup macadamia nuts

1/3 cup blueberry jam

1/3 cup whole fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a large six-muffin baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside. In a small bowl, add the chia seeds and water and set aside until the seeds gel--about five minutes should do it. In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients, including sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, add milk, olive oil, vanilla extract and lemon zest--whisk together and add the chia seeds to this. Whisk again. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the milk/chia ingredients. Mix together with a spoon, being careful to not over mix. Having a few dry spots is okay. If the mixture seems to dry, add a tablespoon more of the milk. It will be a thick dough, but not a "runny" dough. Remove about a half cup of the batter and set aside. Fill the muffins half way with batter. Then place about four or five frozen blueberries on top, then a teaspoon or so of the blueberry jam over it next, and finally use a teaspoon or so of the reserved batter over each muffin cup (don't worry if it doesn't completely cover the blueberries, it will bake up just fine). Sprinkle each cup with a few macadamia nuts. Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes (until muffins are golden on top). Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Store wrapped individually in the freezer or in an airtight container in the fridge.