{Healthy} Raspberry & Lemon Muffins

I love raspberries. I love lemons. I love fruit in general.

I always eat my daily dose of fruits. However that can get quite boring fast. Same old apple. Same old banana. If you haven't caught on by now...I'm a person who prefers pretty much everything in life to be spiced up - somehow. Unfortunately for me, the majority of things you can make fruit into have to do with either: adding tons of bad-for-you-ingredients ......or.....no, that's it. You can only make fruit into a dessert-eqsue item. Apple pie. Bananas Foster. Raspberry Buttery Scones. Lemon Meringue Pie. Peach Melba. Sugar. Flour. Butter. Clogged Arteries. Completely counter-acts any good-benefit of eating fruit in the first place.

So it's my ongoing work to find SWEEEEEET healthy recipes....that actually taste amazing! Where you bite into your concoction and do the happy-food-dance (we've ALL DONE it) and the farthest thing from your mind is how you're amazed that it's healthy.....it's just GOOD. The end.

Which leads me to a realization I've had about myself. I like things that appear to be what they are not. It endlessly entertains me. These Raspberry Lemon Muffins taste like they are frickin full of butter, they melt in your mouth and are so moist and chewy......NOPE. Healthy. The fancy trendy knee-length black spring jacket that I was wearing last night - my momma complimented me on it thinking it was so posh & expensive.......NOPE! I told her it was $10 at Kohls. In which she replied "I hope you don't always tell people that kind of information when they dish out compliments to you". To which I replied "Of course I do, I ALWAYS do." Is that bad? Does it diminish your liking of my jacket now? You loved it before.

I guess it's along the lines of how I love optical illusions. Surprising people with the unexpected. You think it's this? NOPE it's THAT! Mull it over, because it's true.

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

• 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup splenda
  
• 1 cup nonfat milk w/ 1 tablespoon lemon juice added
  
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) raspberries

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 large (1/2-cup) muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon in long strips. Combine the zest and splenda in a food processor; pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the splenda. Add milk & lemon juice, oil, egg and vanilla and pulse until blended.
3. Combine whole-wheat flour,baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the liquid mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in raspberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
4. Bake the muffins until the edges and tops are golden, 12-18 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm.