I live in a house divided. Kel no longer eats the stevia-sweetened chocolate chips that I love – due to the cocoa butter content. Sure, I could show solidarity and give up those sweet, little happy drops – but he wouldn’t want me to, right? Of course not! Love is never having to say, “Stop eating chocolate.” So my solution is to create treats from one basic recipe that can be easily modified for our separate tastes.
One batch of these oil-free, whole grain muffins is studded with chocolate chips and the other is filled with juicy fresh blueberries. Both chocolate and blueberries (plus oats, bananas, and apple[sauce]) are good for us. It all makes for a happy, healthy and peaceful household.
FYI these are not super sweet. If you like a sweeter treat, go with 1/3 cup of xylitol or sub your favorite granulated sweetener.
The goods on the goodies:
Blueberries
- The dark blue in blueberries is a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals.
- Vitamin A may help keep our eyes healthy.
- Fiber helps keep us regular and stuff.
Oatmeal
- Soluble fiber reduces LDL (the bad) cholesterol.
- Regular consumption of oats may protect us from getting heart disease.
- Phytonutrients in oatmeal are cancer-fighting ninjas.
Chocolate
- The Dark Master is loaded with powerful antioxidants.
- Flavanols in chocolate may help lower blood pressure.
- Eat chocolate to help raise HDL cholesterol.

Oil-free Multigrain Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
If you’re looking for a not-too-sweet, oil-free snack, dessert, or breakfast, look no further than these easy multigrain chocolate chip muffins.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup fine cornmeal (not polenta)
- 1/2 cup quick-cook oats
- 1/4 cup xylitol
- 2 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1 cup “buttermilk” (1 cup non-dairy milk + 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar)
- 1 large, very ripe banana, mashed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup stevia-sweetened vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375-degrees F and lightly oil 8 muffin tins.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, xylitol, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, banana, and vanilla extract.
- Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and beat until well-combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin tins and bake for about 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin should come out clean.
- Let cool for a few minutes in the pan, then very carefully extract the muffins from the tin and let cool completely on a wire rack.

MULTIGRAIN BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Oil-Free Multigrain Blueberry Muffins
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
If you’re looking for a not-too-sweet, oil-free snack, dessert, or breakfast, look no further than these easy multigrain blueberry muffins. Dairy-free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup fine cornmeal (not polenta)
- 1/2 cup quick-cook oats
- 1/4 cup xylitol
- 2 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 cup non-dairy yogurt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 tsp. orange extract, optional
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375-degrees F and lightly oil 8 muffin tins.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, xylitol, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, applesauce, and orange extract.
- Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and beat until well-combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin tins and bake for about 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin should come out clean.
- Let cool for a few minutes in the pan, then very carefully extract the muffins from the tin and let cool completely on a wire rack.
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2 wonderful healthy wholegrain muffin recipes. I am not a fan of stevia all together so I will use dark vegan mini chocolate chips. Thanks for these 2 amazing delightful recipes! Yummm! 🙂
I’d be happy with either of those (but preferably both). 🙂
I will gladly take both! My mom always complains that I don’t make my baked good “sweet enough”, but that’s how I like them! Less sweet but still delish! (I love the cornmeal here! Such great texture!)
These look delicious! Aaaand I just happen to have all the ingredients lying around! I think you know what I’ll be baking next! 😉
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These BOTH look brilliant…but 2 annoying questions. I have always thought cornmeal and polenta were the same, just geographically different names. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen cornmeal sold in Aus, and if I ask for it I think they’ll tell me it’s polenta! What is the difference? Q2: I don’t have xyltol, so, using coconut sugar, is the amount equivalent? (I don’t like super sweet things either). Thank you for such an approachable recipe and lovely photos!
Hi Jane! Thanks for your comments and your questions are far from annoying :-). Yes, technically polenta IS cornmeal but…Polenta is a much coarser grind/texture than “regular” cornmeal. Polenta is similar to steel-cut oats in texture; cornmeal is similar to cream-of-wheat in texture. Using polenta in baked goods like this would be a big mistake because it will remain too crunchy and hard (unless cooked beforehand and then that opens up a whole different set of issues). Does that make sense? As far as xylitol and coconut sugar – I don’t use coconut sugar much so I’m unfamiliar with the ratio equivalent. Xylitol measures just like refined white sugar and is about the same sweetness. So I guess I would suggest thinking about how coconut sugar compares in sweetness w/ refined sugar and measure that way.
Thank you for your reply! Sugar i sub like for like with white/coconut so that will work! I may try putting polenta in the coffee grinder to get it finer?!!! I’ll see what happens!
Oh man, I’m torn between which one looks better! They both look great!
Thank goodness we are free to enjoy them both :-)!
Loving oil free lately and so is my waist, my pans? Not so much but its worth the scrub I guess.
Know all about a house divided but it can be done. I’m greedy though and is most likely make these with chips and blueberries
Hoping Kel is feeling fabulous which would make the sacrifices solo worth it for you both.
“Necessity is the Mother of invention?”
❤❤
That is the downside of oil-free cooking – pans that are difficult to clean! But I think it has been worth it and I’m hoping we will see an improvement for Kel. Chips AND blueberries?! Yes, ma’am!!
These muffins look like they belong in a bakery!! Too perfect 🙂
Ah, thank you! The trick is overfilling the muffin cups!
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Wow they look so good, such a perfect shape too. I would have to substitute many ingredients, I wonder how swapping oats for buckwheat flakes would work? I’ll have to see 🙂
I’ll bet they would work!
I’ll take 4 of each please! They both look perfect! Too funny that he doesn’t want the chocolate chips anymore! I’d be terribly sad if I never had chocolate chips again!
Ha ha ha, the Dark Master. It’s funny because it’s true. 🙂 I’ve never used xylitol, probably because the name scares me a little (though I know it’s supposed to be a great natural sweetener).
Agreed – the name is horrid! Sounds like a toxin of some kind :-). I like it because it’s one-for-one for white sugar, but I keep my use to a minimum. There are some, let’s say, gastro-intestinal issues with using large quantities of it!
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They look perfect Annie! I must try and make a batch to keep in the freezer for easy snacks.