On the rare morning that I find myself home (preferably alone while the kids are at school) with a little peace and quiet, I find nothing more relaxing than slowly sipping a cup of hot tea. My guilty pleasure is making muffins to accompany my tea. There is something about this combination, best enjoyed around 10 am, that warms me on these cold winter days.

Tea has become almost as fashionable as coffee. While there are more varieties of tea available today than I could possibly count, let alone name, I am a tea traditionalist. I prefer caffeinated black teas, such as earl grey – and especially love the taste of vanilla or almond. Chai spice also passes my test, tasty with a splash of soy milk.

I am generally a healthy eater, and at my strictest I try to reduce or eliminate snacks, especially snacks that are just carbs (but oh, how I love carbs!). So if I am going to make muffins, they have to be reasonably healthy (read: nothing with buttermilk or sour cream, though it helps that I am lactose intolerant).

Fruit-based muffins are a good choice: blueberry, banana, or lemon poppyseed are my personal favorites. They also pack in a serving of well-disguised vitamins.

On a recent below-zero-windchill morning, I made Healthy Blueberry and Banana Muffins to enjoy with my tea. Not only were they simple to make, but they were delicious. The muffin satisfied my desire for that little taste of something sweet with my tea without being overly indulgent. Not only did they pass my test, but my picky five-year-old ate not one but two of them in one sitting, asking while chewing “are these healthy?” I was happy to tell her they are.

Like many of you, one of my New Year’s resolutions includes a renewed commitment to healthy eating. One of my other resolutions is to be more organized about meal planning. If I would just take a few minutes to think more than a day ahead, I would save time in the form at least one trip to the store each week.

This same cold winter morning just after the first of the new year, I sat down with my tea and my warm-from-the-oven banana-blueberry muffin and mapped out the next four days of meals. Now off to the store… much more prepared than usual. What a way to enjoy a cold morning and feel good about my New Year’s resolutions.

Photo by Julie Hallinan