Ham and Cheese Muffins

Lunch has never been my forte. I used to try really hard at putting together a fun and nutritious school lunch. Time would be spent thinking about what to pack. Ryan would draw on napkins each day. But at some point along the way, that effort went out the window. We do have four kids after all. Enter these ham and cheese muffins.

I was delighted to find this recipe several years back. Over the past 11 years, the well-planned lunches have morphed into kids stuffing who knows what into their lunch boxes in the morning. I bought Yumboxes (which I love) thinking they would help ensure our kids packed balanced meals. Not surprisingly, the boxes didn’t inspire my kids to pack salads for lunch each day like the pretty pictures suggested.

When I have a pang of guilt, I will make efforts to be more intentional making provisions for lunch. These ham and cheese muffins are usually my first go-to. While they are not loaded with leafy greens or any greens for that matter, they do pack whole grains and a bit of protein to help everyone get through the rest of the day. I pop them in the freezer after baking them in an airtight container. Kids can grab one in the morning to put in their lunchbox, and it will be thawed by lunchtime. Voila! The kids are always excited when I make them. And can I tell you a secret? The adults get excited about them too.

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Ham & Cheese Muffins

Course Brunch, Lunch, Snack

Yield 18 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable, canola or coconut oil (melted)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup ham, chopped fine

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, and stir to combine.

3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, oil and maple syrup and stir to combine. Add the buttermilk to the egg mixture and stir.

4. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and stir until just combined. Fold in the cheese and ham.

5. Scoop the batter 2/3 of the way up into greased muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes (15 minutes if using mini muffin cups).

Notes

I use coconut oil when I make these. This year as we are overseas, we do not have access to fresh buttermilk, so I have made these with success with buttermilk powder. This is the powder I used.

Source: Weelicious Lunches