Fiber-packed berry morning scuffins

I moved to VT not too long ago from Boston and one of the things I miss most is the Trader Joes. I was so spoiled. I could have premium dried mushrooms, artichoke and portabella mushroom stuffed raviolis, organic polenta, dark chocolate brownies, even in-season fiddleheads if I wanted. There was so much variety and such good quality for the price. I love the cranberry-apple muffins, or the pomegranate muffins which are packed with wheat germ which means they are high in fiber, low in fat, and sugar. Two of those muffins with some cottage cheese and jam and I would be well satiated and have plenty of energy to start my day. I miss those muffins and tried to recreate them here.

Mind you, I'm not sure I would serve these to company as berry muffins, because they are more like savory biscuits or scones, and so I have instead decided to call them scuffins. These are the type of baked good that I can feel good about having everyday and are much better for me than store bought muffins or scones. The next time I make these scuffins, I might add some orange or lemon zest and perhaps reduce the recipe to just a 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, because I like the grainy consistency of the Trader Joes muffins. (If you like your muffins moist, however, I would stick to this recipe as is). As an added bonus wheat germ contains many essential vitamins and minerals. It is not only very high in fiber, but also high in iron, magnesium, selenium, thiamin, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and zinc. It's a great and tasty way to start to a full day. You can also freeze individually wrapped muffins and pop them in the microwave. LIke most baked goods, I suspect they will keep for about 3 months.

Fiber-packed berry morning scuffins (makes 12)
2 cups wheat germ
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup blueberry juice (cranberry, apple, white grape juice would be find here - this is your natural sweetener)
3/4 berries (I used frozen mixed berries, but fresh or frozen can be used)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Stir ingredients in a bowl and distribute evenly in 12 muffin cups. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

I recommend serving with butter, jam and/or honey to sweeten to your discretion as you would a scone or biscuit.

If you are interested in the nutritionals, I've posted them here from the recipe analysis tool at calorie-count.com. Please don't hold me to it, as I'm not sure how reliable this website is, but it seems to be a fairly good estimate.

Nutritionals per serving (12): 117 calories, 2.2 g fat, 1mg sodium, 19.1 g carbohydrates, 3.5 g dietary fiber, 2.6g sugar, 6.6g protein