My friend Kamila of Kamila’s Kitchen recently turned me on to the wonder of millet. I had actually never heard of millet before and when she told me that a) it’s often used in birdseed and b) she made muffins from it I was both interested and skeptical.
According to The World’s Healthiest Foods, millet, a seed that’s considered a “superfood” with a nutty flavor, has many healthy properties, including magnesium, which has been shown to “reduce the severity of asthma and to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks. Magnesium has also been shown to lower high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attack.” When I heard this, I was on board. Now that I’m trying to move my life in a new direction toward healthy eating/healthy living, I decided to give those millet muffins a go.
Here is Kamila’s recipe w/ my photos:
Millet Muffins
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/3 raw millet
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (I used 1/4 to reduce the sodium)
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
2 tbsp. ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp. water
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
1/2 cup honey
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 3 half-dozen muffin pans with paper liners (I used a nonstick muffin pan w/o liners). In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, millet, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Place the stick of butter in a microwave-safe bowl and zap for 30 seconds, until melted. In a small dish, combine the ground flaxseed and water; stir with a fork and let sit for 2 minutes. In the meantime, in a smaller bowl mix the yogurt, honey, lemon zest and juice. Add the melted butter and ground flaxseed and stir until combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the flour is incorporated. As Kamila says, “the batter will be airy and smell so sweet and citrusy you’ll steal a tiny spoonful.”
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until tops are browned and a toothpick comes out clean.
Kamila also mentioned pairing the millet muffins (which were so good!) with homemade strawberry applesauce. I had plenty of both as I had just made a trip to Whole Foods, so I decided to test the combination. Applesauce is super easy to make. Here’s my variation on the recipe that turned out incredibly delicious:
Ingredients:
4-6 medium/large apples (I used a combination of Granny Smith and Gala)
water
2 tbsp. raw sugar
2-3 good squeezes from 1/2 of a large lemon
Directions:
Peel, core, and chop apples into small chunks. Put into a pot and barely cover with water (1-2 inches or so). Hull and quarter strawberries and toss into pot. Pour in lemon juice and give 1-2 stirs to blend. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to simmer. Let mixture simmer for about an hour.
After an hour, you might need to use a potato masher to fully blend the softened apples and strawberries (I did this). After blending, include the 2 tbsp. of the raw sugar; blend with a wooden spoon. Let simmer for about 15-20 min. more.
You can then either eat/serve this warm or chilled–it’s excellent either way! It also, just FYI, makes a perfect pairing with the millet muffins (I used it as a jam):
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