Master Muffin Mix with Whole Wheat and Oats helps you get a nourishing breakfast ready for your family when they need something quick.
If there’s one meal I struggle with in making for my family, it’s breakfast. When my kids were little, I was pretty good at getting breakfast on the table for them, making sure it was balanced with protein and healthy carbs.
As they’ve grown older and become more independent, with more activities and varied time schedules, I’ve found it more difficult. It’s easier to say – get your own breakfast – and then hope they choose something nourishing for the day. That can be challenging when they’re in a time crunch to get to class or to work. They need something that’s quick, but healthy. So as much as I’d like to fill them up with a steaming bowl of steel-cut oats topped with berries and sliced almonds (one of my favorites), it’s just not going to happen.
I know, I know – they should get up earlier, right? They should take time to sit down and eat. They know that, and they do it sometimes. But the reality is – they’re teenagers and college students who are still learning to plan ahead, and sometimes they oversleep or just don’t get it together in time to sit at the table and eat.
So instead of seeing them go hungry or grab a donut on the way (yes, that happens) I like to make things that they can grab as they head out the door – like muffins. Problem is, that also takes time in the morning, or the night before. And hard as I try, I don’t always think to make them the night before. So, in order to cut down on the prep time, I developed a Master Muffin Mix.
Once a month I take 20 minutes or so to fill a few quart-sized canning jars with all the dry ingredients for my muffins. I store them in the pantry or freezer, and when I want to make muffins I pull out a jar, dump the contents into a bowl with the liquid ingredients, and healthier, homemade muffins are on the way. It cuts the prep time down considerably, and helps me provide a nourishing breakfast for my family.
The beauty of it is that with one master mix I can make several different kinds of muffins, so it doesn’t get boring. The mix is made with whole wheat pastry flour and oats for a good dose of whole grains and fiber. I add ground flax seed for healthy fats, too. To maintain freshness, be sure to store the jars of Master Muffin Mix in the freezer if you add the flax seed to the jars. Otherwise, you can store the jars in the pantry and add the flax seed when you mix in the liquid ingredients.
To get you started, I have a recipe below for Banana Chocolate Chip muffins that uses the Master Muffin Mix. You can also try my Blueberry Oat Muffins for another option. I have other ideas in the works that I’ll post as I develop them – like cherry almond muffins or pumpkin cranberry muffins. Try your own additions too, and let me know your favorites in the comments below.
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Master Muffin Mix with Whole Wheat and Oats (Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins)
Ingredients
For each jar of muffin mix use the following:
- 2 c. Whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 c. Old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. Baking powder
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed **See Note
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 1/2 c. Greek yogurt
- 1/2 c. milk
- 2 mashed bananas about 1 cup
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 jar of Master Muffin Mix or 3 1/3 c. of the mix
- 1/2 c. chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp. finely chopped walnuts
- 1 Tbsp. turbinado sugar
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Using a funnel, fill each jar with whole wheat pastry flour, old-fashioned oats, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Add ground flax seed if desired.
- Cap with a lid and store in the cupboard, pantry, or freezer.
- Jars with ground flax seed added should be stored in the freezer.
- Each jar should contain about 3 1/3 c. dry ingredients.
- Use as directed in muffin recipes on Healthy Ideas Place.
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray muffin tins with non-stick pan spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, Greek yogurt, milk, mashed bananas, and vanilla.
- Add 1 jar (or 3 1/3 c.) of Master Muffin Mix and 1 tsp cinnamon to the liquid ingredients. Blend gently just till dry ingredients are moistened and evenly distributed.
- Fold in chocolate chips. Mix together, in a small bowl, the chopped walnuts, turbinado sugar, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.
- Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Top each muffin with a little of the walnut/sugar/cinnamon mix.
- Bake at 375° F for about 15 minutes till muffins are done. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve immediately.
- Makes about 22 muffins.
Love this idea of keeping a master mix of the dry ingredients on hand and ready to go. Brilliant!
Thanks, Ann! It’s been helpful for our mornings!
Such a great idea and it would make the prettiest gift for friends and neighbors!
Yes, just put a piece of burlap or something over the lid and you have a nice gift too!
This is an awesome idea! Makes muffins even easier to make!
Thanks, Emily! It definitely saves time in the long run. 🙂
This is so much fun! I haven’t thought about doing muffin mason jars- this would be a super creative gift. Thanks for this! Will be making them for sure.
Love this idea! I love having homemade mixes in mason jars for ease and convenience when I’m ready to bake some healthy. Did this for my Cranberry Crumble pre-THanksgiving to keep it simple in the midst of the holiday “cook up a storm” week.