Morning Glory Muffins

The holidays are here and are now in full swing!  I absolutely love this time of year, and of course, one of my favorite things about it is all the food.  I love it all-the holiday meals, the holiday parties and get-togethers, special breakfasts and all the cookies and other delicious baked goods.  Unfortunately, though, it's really hard to stay on track with eating healthy this time of year.  For me, it's all about balance-which is exactly why I made these muffins.

These are packed with ingredients that are actually good for you-nuts, dried fruit, yogurt and whole wheat flour.  And they are really quite filling too.  I think my favorite part of making these muffins was deciding what to put in them-this a really flexible recipe so go ahead and add in what you have and what you like-I used a combination of nuts, dried cranberries, dates and sunflower seeds but go ahead and add any kind of nut, seed or dried fruit!

I made a batch and plan on keeping some in the freezer for a quick breakfast or snack to keep me on track this season.  They would also be a great addition to any holiday breakfast spread-your guests (and you!) will appreciate a healthy and hearty muffin like this.

These muffins are also my contribution to this week's 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hop hosted by Meal Planning Magic. Be sure to check out what the other blogger's shared this week for more great holiday treat ideas!

Morning Glory Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour (about 4 3/4 ounces)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
1 cup regular oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 large egg
3/4 cup chopped dried dates (or any other dried fruit such as pineapple)
3/4 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts, pecans and almonds)
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries (or cherries and/or raisins)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or pepitas)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 18 muffin cups liners in muffin cups (you might need more than this-I made 22 muffins).

Measure flours into dry measuring cups, leveling with a knife. Combine flours and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; whisk gently to combine. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, banana, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Fold in dates, nuts, cranberries and sunflower seeds. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.  Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.

Source: Adapted from Cooking Light