If you are a regular reader of my recipes, you already know that I love pumpkin. In fact, just two weeks ago I wrote about the various nutritional benefits that eating the humble pumpkin offers the body. Yet, pumpkin isn't the only food with numerous nutritional benefits. Blueberries are another food loaded with numerous health benefits.

Blueberries are packed with antioxidants that prevent cancer-causing cell damage to the body as well as fight age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. Blueberries are rich in Vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene as well as rich in the minerals potassium, manganese and magnesium. They are also very high in fiber and low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Yet, this is only the beginning of their nutritional benefits.

Blueberries get their blue color from a substance called anthocyanins. This is an antioxidant known for reducing heart disease and cancer. Blueberries are currently the only known food to contain the highest concentration of anthocyanins. This same substance is also believed to combat e-coli.

Blueberries also contain chorogenic acid. This is another antioxidant believed to slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal. This makes them the perfect food for breakfast if lunch is many hours away. It is also believed that chorogenic acid fights damaging free radicals.

Reservatrol is also contained within blueberries. Although resveratrol is mainly known for occurring in red grapes, it presence in blueberries offers the same health benefits including anti-cancer, antiviral, neuroprotective, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and life-prolonging effects.

Another substance contained within blueberries is pterostilbene. This is known for fighting cancer and lowering cholesterol. Furthermore, diets rich in blueberries augment learning capability and memory power as well as reduce urinary tract infection and protect vision. Additionally, consuming blueberries acts as an astringent to the digestive system due to the fact they contain tannins.

Given all the nutritional benefits of blueberries, you can now see why this is food I try to consume several times a week. I especially love to eat them for breakfast with cereal or oatmeal. Therefore, I recently thought, why not combine the two: pumpkin and blueberries into a delicious muffin that my daughter could eat for breakfast during the school week?

Yet, how could I make them easily and still have time for everything else that needs to be completed on a school morning? I came up with the same answer I usually employ: Make these muffins ahead on the weekend. Store them in the refrigerator or freezer for quick reheats during the school week. Serve these up with a glass of milk or warmed chocolate milk and maybe even a small spoonful of nut butter, and she is ready for her day at school.

Yet, I wanted to make this recipe easy for you, dear reader. So rather than use 100 ingredients for a recipe as I have been accused of doing, I kept it simple and based my recipe on a prepackaged muffin mix, Fiber One Blueberry. What evolved was a tasty weekend breakfast with plenty of leftovers for school day breakfasts or after-school snacks. No matter when you eat this muffin, you are sure to reap double nutritional benefits of both blueberries and pumpkins -- not to mention the added fiber from the mix. Enjoy!

PUMPKIN, FIBER ONE MUFFIN VARIATION

1 box Fiber One Blueberry Muffin Mix

1 14.5 ounce can of pumpkin

1 egg

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup applesauce or low-fat vanilla (or plain) yogurt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together. Batter will be somewhat lumpy.

Divide evenly among prepared muffin cups.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until muffins are golden and tops of muffins spring back when touched.

Makes 12 muffins.

These can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to three months.

Stephanie Hill is a freelance writer and a kindergarten teacher at Burlington Elementary. She is also a lifelong resident of Lawrence County. She can be reached at hill992@zoominternet.net.

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Stephanie Hill/The Lawrence Herald

Pumpkin and blueberry might sound like unconventional partners, but when used in Stephanie Hill's Pumpkin Fiber One Muffin Variation recipe, they make a tasty treat that packed full of nutrition.

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