Blueberries are native to North America, and the blueberry muffin is the state muffin of Minnesota. When leavening agents such as baking powder were invented, quick breads were developed, and it was only natural that fruits, including blueberries, would be added to the batter. The result was a delicious muffin that's also a good source of vitamins, minerals, and protein.
Definition
Blueberry muffins are made from a simple quick bread that is baked in a muffin tin or using paper muffin cups to create individual servings. The following nutrition information considers blueberry muffins made from scratch (homemade) to prepared blueberry muffins that are sold in stores (commercial). Comparing the two types shows that a homemade muffin (57 g) and a commercial muffin (71 g) are almost equal in most nutrients. All of the nutrition information comes from the USDA Nutrient Data Base as reported on the website Nutritiondata.com.
Basic Nutrition
The calories in a homemade muffin average about 162, and a commercial one about 181. They supply 6 to 7 g of protein. The Nutritiondata.com web site creates a protein rating based on the amount and proportion of essential amino acids and on a scale where 100 represents a complete, high-quality protein, blueberry muffins rate 80 (homemade) and 93 (commercial). Commercially prepared muffins labeled "low fat" have 5 percent of the recommended daily value of total fat, compared to homemade muffins with 9 percent. Both homemade and low-fat commercial muffins have 7 percent of the daily value of cholesterol.
One difference in the muffins is dietary fiber. Commercially prepared muffins provide 12 percent of the daily value (DV) of fiber but homemade muffins typically have no fiber. Using whole wheat flour would increase the dietary fiber in homemade blueberry muffins.
Vitamins
Blueberry muffins are a good source of thiamin and riboflavin (8 to 10 percent DV), folate (7 to 9 percent DV), and niacin (5 to 6 percent DV). They also provide 1 to 2 percent of the daily value of vitamin B12, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid and vitamins A and C.
Minerals
Most of the essential minerals are supplied by both homemade and commercial blueberry muffins, including selenium (10 to 14 percent DV), sodium (9 to 10 percent DV), phosphorus (8 to 9 percent DV), and iron (7 to 8 percent DV). They also contain 2 percent of the daily value of magnesium, potassium, zinc and copper. The two types have significantly different amounts of calcium and manganese. The homemade version has more calcium (11 percent DV compared to 2 percent DV) but the commercially prepared muffins have more manganese (28 percent DV compared to 9 percent DV).
Blueberries
Blueberries are a great source of flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Flavonoids have also been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, but scientists don't know if that's a result of the flavonoids or a combination of other factors found in flavonoid-rich foods. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, a portion of blueberries equal to 100 g, or about ¾ cup, provides between 2 to 16 mg of flavonoids. The George Mateljan Foundation states that the amount of flavonoids increase as the fruit ripens, and that frozen and fresh blueberries have equal amounts of flavonoids, but these important nutrients are lost in processed foods.
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