These Berry Yogurt Muffins and Back-to-School Meal Prep Snack Packs have been sponsored by Danone. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.
These Berry Yogurt Muffins, made with rolled oats, vanilla yogurt, fresh berries, and a touch of honey, are a delicious and healthy homemade addition to any back-to-school lunchbox.
Back-to-School is in full swing here at my house and, unlike last year, I am trying to do lunchtime a little differently this year. Last year, preparing lunch became a daily chore that ultimately resulted in me sending my kid off to school with the same three things, on rotate, every day. This year, however, things are going to be a little different around my house and I am so excited! Octavian, he’s excited, too, he just doesn’t know it yet.
So what inspired this change? Meal prepping each of his lunches for the week on Sunday. Yes, I know, more meal prep. But, meal prep does not have to be hard or time-consuming. And just because you are meal prepping one meal does not mean you have to start meal prepping all the meals for the week.
Packing a school lunch always seems to be the most challenging because I am never just packing lunch. I am also making breakfast, unloading the dishwasher, making coffee, cleaning up breakfast, trying to get my one child dressed (how do you parents with more than one do it?!), and responding to emails. Morning time at my house is a fun little song and dance that I wouldn’t trade for anything, but the lunch packing? Yeah, let’s save that for meal planning.
This week I decided to include a Homemade Berry Yogurt Muffin as part of his lunch. These muffins are easily mixed together in just 10 minutes and come packed with fiber and protein thanks to the addition of yogurt. These sweet little Berry Yogurt Muffins are also my 4-year-olds favorite, so I knew it would make him one happy boy.
Ingredients in these Berry Yogurt Muffins
- All-purpose-flour
- Rolled oats
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Flax Seeds
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Egg
- Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt (vanilla or strawberry)
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Mixed berries
- White chocolate chips (optional)
Why I love these Berry Yogurt Muffins
- They take less than 10 minutes to mix together and just 15 minutes to bake.
- They’re sweet, but not too sweet. My son is only 4-years-old. The last thing he needs is to be eating muffins packed full of sugar.
- There is no added oil or butter.
- Made with a mix of flour and rolled oats, these berry yogurt muffins have more fiber.
- They’re soft and fluffy thanks to the addition of Greek yogurt.
- Greek yogurt also helps give each of these muffins a little extra protein which is crucial for growing kiddos.
- Easily customizable.
- Make extra and freeze for later!
I have been making muffins for years and years and any muffin made with yogurt and packed full of berries remain a family favorite.
And, these berry yogurt muffins are especially easy to customize.
- Pick your yogurt flavor. As I previously mentioned, one of my favorite parts of these muffins is the addition of Greek yogurt. Even more fun, however, is that you can play with the flavor of your muffins by choosing different flavors. For example, in this recipe, I used Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Greek Yogurt, but Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt also comes in strawberry, blueberry, and loads of other flavors. Or, you can do like Octavian does, and dunk his muffin in his yogurt for a double dose of protein.
- The fruit. You do not have to add all three kinds of berries to these muffins. I added all three types because I literally have a child who is obsessed with berries.
- Go nuts. Ok, not seriously, but if no one in your family has nut allergies, add some nuts like walnuts or pecans.
- Top ’em off. I have a tendency to top my muffins with stuff. Lately, it’s been white chocolate chips and brown sugar. I don’t know why. I think it’s a phase or something. That said, if you like a slightly sweeter muffin this is a great way to make that happen.
My other must-have snack for the whole family is yogurt. Yes, simple yogurt. Come to my house, or run into me at Target, and I can guarantee that you will find a fridge full or shopping cart loaded with yogurt. In my family, yogurt is used in four major ways-
- In baking and cooking. These berry yogurt muffins, for example. But yogurt is also used for dips, dressings, or to marinate meat. The uses for yogurt in cooking and baking is endless.
- When my child is hungry at the worst time ever. Translation- my child likes to get hungry right before bed or twenty minutes after lunch. I tell him to get a yogurt.
- Dessert. Ok, so this one is mostly for me since I don’t really consider yogurt to be a dessert. However, I’m old, so if I can trick my brain into thinking that something that is good for my body can also be dessert, well, I consider that a huge win. My new obsession is Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Greek Yogurt with granola. Try it. You can thank me later 😉
- As part of breakfast or lunch meal prep.
Some of my family’s favorite yogurt can all be found at my very favorite place in the whole world…Target. Who else loves Target? Just kidding, that’s a silly question. Target is like the grown-up version of retail Disneyland. Anyway, lucky for me, my Target store is just a couple miles from my house which makes Target runs super convenient. Between new clothes for the kiddo (literally the only place I buy his clothing), lunch snacks (including my stockpiles of yogurt), food props for the blog, cleaning products, school supplies, etc. I just love Target.
A few of our favorite yogurts currently include Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt, Oiknos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt, and Danimals. I am a huge fan of the first two while Octavian particularly enjoys the Danimals smoothies. All available in individual serving size cups, these yogurts make it easy to pack yogurt in any school lunch.
Don’t miss out! Between 8/5 – 9/1 you could save on select yogurts by downloading the Target Cartwheel App!
While it’s true that yogurt is amazing, kids (and adults) need more to survive and thrive. Here are my suggestions for packing simple, yet healthy, lunch or snack boxes.
- Protein. Protein is so important for proper growth and to help maintain energy. Easy sources of protein to prepare ahead of time include chicken breast, hardboiled egg, meat jerky (my child goes nuts for the stuff!), deli meat, etc.
- Carbs. Kids don’t need to be on any kind of low-carb anything. They need the energy. My favorite easy additions include pretzels, pita chips, bagel, crackers, cooked pasta noodles, etc.
- All the fruit. fresh fruit is great and ideal, but if you’re really in a pinch even canned fruit in lite syrup that is drained first is better than nothing.
- Some kind of veggie. While it is true that most days my son will return home without eating his veggies, my hope is that one day he will magically discover that he loves cherry tomatoes. So I pack them. Great veggies include cucumber, tomatoes, sugar snap peas (my personal fav…oh wait, the tomatoes too), bell pepper, raw or cooked broccoli, and cauliflower.
- Dairy. Dairy comes with calcium and calcium is important for several things, but most important being bone strength. Yogurt is a great source of calcium, as well as milk and cheese.
- Dip. Sometimes those veggies need a dip to help them go down easier. My personal favorite is hummus, but peanut butter or cream cheese are two other great alternatives.
And muffins. Especially muffins filled with berries and yogurt 😉
Berry Yogurt Muffins (Back-To-School Meal Prep)
Ingredients
For the Berry Yogurt Muffins
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoon flax seeds
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 0.25 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup yogurt (I used Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Greek Yogurt)
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar - packed
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (large) cup mixed berries - fresh or frozen
For the snack boxes (all optional, pick your favorites)
- Hard boiled eggs
- Pretzels, pita chips, crackers, etc.
- Fresh fruit- berries, oranges, grapes, kiwi, pineapple, apples, etc.
- Sliced veggies- broccoli, carrots, cucumber, sugar snap peas, etc.
- Nuts or seeds
- Yogurt or Danimals
- Sliced cheese or string-cheese
Instructions
For the Berry Yogurt Muffins
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients- flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate larger bowl, whisk the egg before adding the yogurt, honey, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix well to combine.
- Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until just combined. In a small bowl toss the berries with 1 tablespoon of flour until the berries are just coated. Carefully fold the berries into the batter.
- Portion the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with brown sugar and white chocolate chips, if desired. Bake for approximately 14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Freeze extras in a sealed ziplock bag or store in a sealed Tupperware for 3-4 days.
For the Snack Boxes (optional)
- To each snack box add one muffin and any other favorite additions. I always try to include an equal balance of protein, fruit, carbohydrates, and veggies.
Jessica's Notes
- Nutrition facts are for one muffin. Additional ingredients added to the snack box are not accounted for.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Dannon® Oikos® Greek Yogurt and Danimals® Kids Smoothies. The opinions and text are all mine.
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