Figure conscious? Or really trying hard to lose weight and sacrificing on your sweet content? Well, we have just the solution for you!

Low fat blueberry muffins shall make your day. Blueberries are, as it is, extremely healthy fruits. Rich in fiber and really high in all the necessary nutrients, these make an excellent ingredient for any recipe.

The delicious and warm blueberry muffins that we are about to make are extremely hard to beat and too irresistible. And guess what? We wouldn’t give you any reason to resist them at all. The recipe of the blueberry muffins given below is with “fat” cut really low and normal muffin ingredients substituted with the ones that shall not harm your figure even a bit.

All you need is (ingredients):

Two cups of all purpose flour, one tea spoon of baking powder, half a tea spoon of baking soda, a little more than a quarter cup of sugar, a quarter tea spoon of salt, one large egg and a cup of blueberries.

You would even need about 2 table spoons of canola oil which is extremely good for the heart and is a very good low fat substitute for butter or other fats used to make muffins. Do not forget to have a cup of non-fat milk to add to your recipe.

Method:

To start with, preheat your oven to about 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C. Take a muffin tray with about 12 moulds or just 12 normal muffin cups. Line these cups with paper cups or just use your cooking spray to make sure that your muffins do not stick to the corner of the cups after baking.

Take a large mixing bowl and add the all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and the baking soda into it. Add salt after this. Mix well.

Take another mixing bowl and add eggs into it. Beat lightly for a while and put in the non-fat milk and the canola oil. Keep stirring as you add these.

Put the wet mixture of eggs and milk into the mixture of the all purpose flour right in the centre and keep stirring as you do it. Stir until the whole mixture turns into a smooth batter and fold in the blueberries next. Stir well again. Make sure that no lumps are there in the batter finally. You can even add cinnamon, walnuts or any other fruits that are your personal favorites.

Once the batter is done, all you need to do is, spoon the batter into the muffin cups gently. Do not fill the cups to the brim, make sure only 3/4th of it is filled. Bake for 20 minutes. After baking, softly touch the centre of your muffins and see if they bounce back, to make sure if they are cooked completely.

Then take out you muffin cups and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
After cooling, empty the cups into a serving tray and serve.

Have with family and friends at any occasion; serve with whipped cream or chocolate for children to make it more interesting.

- Shaan

Blueberries are even considered to be one of the healthiest fruits around. They are very rich in Vitamin A, B and C and their consumption reduces the risk of cancer. Very high in fibre and low in saturated fat; blueberries make the best ingredients for all recipes.

Blueberry muffins are therefore one of the most delicious and nutritious kinds of muffins enjoyed all around the world. These muffins are usually considered to be a wonderful breakfast snack loved by people from all age groups.

We shall now discuss a very simple recipe to make your very own basic blueberry muffin. All you need to have to start is:

1. One and a half cups of all-purpose flour
2. One table spoon of baking powder
3. Half cup of sugar
4. Half tea spoon salt
5. One egg
6. Half cup of milk
7. One-fourth cup shortening, melted and cooled.
8. One cup of blueberries.

Blueberries used can be fresh or frozen. Due to this quality blueberry muffins can be made all around the year for all different occasions. Do not forget to rinse and drain the blueberries before using.

To start with – take a mixing bowl and add sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder and salt and mix it well together. Then take another mixing bowl and add egg and milk and whisk them together.

Drain out the egg and milk into the bowl filled with the dry mix of flour and sugar. As you are pouring in the milk and egg mix keep stirring the whole mixture. Stir until the mixture becomes a smooth batter. Mix in the cooled melted shortening as well until all the ingredients are blended. In the end, put in the blueberries and mix well.

You can experiment and put in your favourite ingredients like some nuts and add a distinct and new flavour to your basic muffin.

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F or 190 degree C. Grease about 12 muffin cups with oil and fill in the batter in the cups with the help of a spoon. Do not over fill the cups, fill only about two third of the cup. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes. After the 25 mins use a toothpick as a tester and prick the centre of one of your muffins and see if it comes out clean. If it does, your blueberry muffin is ready to serve.

Take your muffin tray out and keep them on a shelf for a while. Let it cool for ten minutes and then take your muffins out of the tray. Serve them at breakfast or as an evening snack. Add on a sugar coat on top or have them with chocolate or whipped cream as per your taste.

Make yourself and your whole family indulge in the great taste of this healthy muffin.

- Shaan

1 cup + 2 table spoons flour
1 tea spoon baking powder
½ tea spoon baking soda
¾ tea spoon salt
½ tea spoon cider vinegar
5 table spoons milk
½ molasses
2 big eggs slightly beaten
3 table spoons butter (unsalted)
1 ½ cups blueberries
1 tea spoon flour
Powdered sugar (according to your liking)
Sweetened fresh cream (whipped)

Utensils Required

2 big bowls, 2 small bowls, 1 big spoon, a big saucepan

How to make the cake?

1. Take a big bowl and mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in it.
2. Take a small bowl and mix the cider vinegar with 3 table spoons of milk in it.
3. Take another small bowl and mix the molasses with 2 table spoons of milk in it.
4. Now take another big bowl, pour in the mixture of the cider vinegar, molasses and milk into it and add the slightly beaten eggs into the mixture.
5. Now add the mixture of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the mixture of the cider vinegar, molasses, milk and slightly beaten eggs.
6. Add the butter, blueberries and 1 tea spoon of flour into the mixture.
7. Mix the mixture properly and keep it aside.
8. Now preheat the oven to 350o F.
9. Grease and flour a big saucepan and pour the batter into the pan.
10. Put the saucepan in the preheated oven and bake the cake for about half an hour to 45 minutes or till a toothpick poked in the center of the cake comes out clean.
11. After the cake is baked, turn it out, sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of it and cover the cake with the sweetened fresh cream.
12. Serve the cake with a big dollop of freshly whipped sweet cream.
13. The yummiest and the most deliciously irresistible blueberry cake is now ready to be devoured.

How many people does this recipe serve?

This blueberry cake recipe serves 6 people.

- Seema Khinnavar

• 1 large cucumber
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons finely cut mint
• ½ teaspoons finely cut dill
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sprigs of mint

Peel the cucumber. Slice it into long vertical pieces. Scoop out all the seeds and then grate it. Take the yogurt in a bowl and mix the grated cucumber along with vinegar, mint, dill and salt. Mix them thoroughly. Refrigerate the contents for at least 3 hours in advance before serving. Garnish with mint and serve!

The most easily available and common soup ingredient is tomatoes. So for Chilled Tomato Soup, you require:

• 5 ripe chopped tomatoes
• 1 Can vegetable cocktail juice
• 1 cup tomato juice
• 1 can chicken broth (ready to use)
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 3 cloves, garlic – minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 15 basil leaves
• 6 whole basil leaves

In a food processor, place tomatoes and cocktail juice and process until they are smooth. Place the liquid in a glass bowl and add tomato juice and chicken broth to it. Mix well and refrigerate.

In a small pan, melt butter and add onion, garlic, and cook for 6-7 minutes on medium heat. Remove from the heat and mix it into the tomato mixture. Add cream, pepper and basil leaves and chill the soup for 3-4 hours before serving. Garnish with chopped tomatoes.

Summers are a great time to experiment with blueberries. So why not make chilled soups with yummy blueberries. For Blueberry Mango Soup, you need:

• 6 cups frozen blueberries
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¾ cup mango puree
• 1 cup ice wine or honey wine

Mix blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and cardamom in a pan. Boil the mixture over medium heat. Cook till the sugar dissolves for about 7 minutes. Slightly cool blueberry mixture and transfer the mixture into a bowl. This makes your blueberry puree.

Now in another bowl, combine blueberry puree, mango puree and wine. Strain this mixture through a sieve. Cool the obtained mixture.

Serve cold with blueberries or mango slices! Yummy!

Tired of traditional soup ingredients? Let’s try the extremely delicious Chilled Orange Borscht.

Ingredients:

• 1 jar pickled beets
• 1 ½ cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 ½ cup yogurt
• 1 pinch salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives

Add beets, orange and lemon juices, and yogurt in a blender. Add salt and pepper according to taste. Mix it thoroughly and chill for 2-3 hours. Serve with yogurt and chives. Quick recipe with convenient ingredients!

- P. Asha Ritu