Muffins deliver a morning boost

Nothing delights me more than seeing my daughters, Hannah and Rachel, follow in my footsteps and create recipes. This summer, my girls did just that while working for their school newspaper at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. (Hannah is a columnist and Rachel is a photographer and design layout editor.)

They worked together on today's recipe, developing, styling, and photographing Motivate Me Muffins hot out of the oven. In fact, portions of this column appeared in the East Carolinian on June 27.

I was the lucky recipient of their leftovers. Motivate Me Muffins are a treasure -- whether you are a sleepy college student, a weary parent, or a working person in need of an energy boost in the summer heat.

To paraphrase what Hannah wrote in her column: You need something to energize you on early mornings, and this seasonal berry muffin recipe is just the fix.

Contact Alicia Ross at Kitchen Scoop, c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106, or send email to tellus@kitchenscoop.com. Or visit the Kitchen Scoop Web site at www.kitchenscoop.com.

Start to finish: less than 15 minutes prep; 15-18 minutes baking time

⅓ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup mashed bananas (2 ripe bananas)

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup instant oatmeal

1-1 1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine sugars, oil, egg, bananas, yogurt, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl; mix well, using a whisk. (If you don't have a whisk, use a fork and mix until batter is well combined.) Batter may be chunky because of the bananas.

Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and oatmeal until batter is a consistent texture throughout.

Gently fold blueberries into batter. (You do not want to burst the berries, or you are going to have purple muffins. Be gentle!)

Line muffin tin with paper liners and fill each cup ⅔ full. (You should have enough batter for 18 muffins.)

Place tin on center rack and bake for 15-18 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the middle of several muffins. There should not be any residual dough when toothpick is removed. Remove muffins from muffin tin and let cool.

Yield: 18 muffins

Approximate values per muffin: 148 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated), 9 mg cholesterol, 3 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 46 mg sodium.