Home-made Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Muffins

I get those days when I feel like, “OOKKKAYYY Kimberly!!!  You need some balance here girlfriend, you’ve been a really bad, bad girl lately! ” (Sorrrrry body of mine!! It’s because of my torrid love affair with Chocolate! I LOVE CHOCOLATE! <—-totally his fault!)   I love muffins too, but the ones you get in the grocery are so over-processed with ingredients you can’t even pronounce, they give me a bad vibe most of the time and they don’t have that home-made taste to me, but that’s just my opinion.  I like to be able to pronounce and know what I’m eating when I gorge myself, thank you very much. 

So, I decided to whip up some healthy, light muffins bursting with some big, juicy red cherries.  Cherries just sound cheery don’t they?  🙂  So, I guess the phrase “Life is a bowl of cherries!”, reflects cheery because it translates as “Life is good” and “Everything is peachy-keen” or should I say “cherry-keen”?

We want our muffins to taste like cake if we could? These are kind of like a cupcake, but not overly sweet!  You could always add frosting though?  They are perfect and moist because of the Greek yogurt (boost of protein!) and applesauce used in the recipe.  The juice of the lemon & zest with the vanilla gives it another level of freshness and pairs well with the yogurt and cherries. They freeze well too! 

 These are delicious for breakfast, snacking, packing or on the go. Get you some! 🙂

Here are some reasons why Cherries are so good for you! 

Helps fight cancer and disease!  Cherries are full of antioxidants and help repair or prevent damage done to cells by free radicals.  Cherries are rich in Queritrin–a flavonoid,  ellagic acid and pherillyl alcohol (POH), all which have been found to be one of the most potent anti-cancer agents to fight off all the body’s cancerous cells as well as preventative. Helps relieve pain of arthritis and gout, helps eliminate oxidative stress, prevents prematuring aging, helps cure migraines, and helps with the body clock and sleep. All that in cherries…they’re packed with goodies!

If you don’t have cherries, you could try blueberries, peaches or strawberries.  If you have to have chocolate for some added sweetness, (Trust me, I’m just as shocked as you are that I didn’t add it in) you can add in any flavor of chocolate chips for an added treat.  I’m thinking dark chocolate would be absolutely heaven in these!  Make them today!  10 minutes to prepare and 25-30 minutes in the oven and you’re good to go!

Here’s the recipe Cherry lovers: 

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Home-made Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Muffins

Home-made Vanilla Yogurt Muffin bursting with Sweet Cherries.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Author: Kim Lange

Ingredients

• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup Chobani Vanilla Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 lemon - grate for lemon zest and use the juice from lemon when preparing the recipe
• 1 1/2 cups sweet cherries pitted and cut in half fresh or frozen
• Optional: ½ cup granola for topping

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin pan with liners or spray with baking spray. Set aside.
• In one bowl, put all your dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder & baking soda) and mix with a whisk.
• Lightly beat eggs and add in yogurt, applesauce, honey, vanilla, lemon zest and juice from the lemon and mix until well blended.
• Add wet mixture to dry mixture until just blended. (Don't over mix - you will get tough muffins!)
• Fold in cherries and add some on top and press in gently.
• Sprinkle with granola if you want some added crunch.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
• Recipe makes 6 large or 12 regular muffins.