Whenever I have an early morning pilates or yoga session before work, I usually need to quickly consume something to energise myself without feeling too full. These little muffin gems are a great fix, as I can conveniently grab one from the freezer and pop it into the microwave for thirty seconds before heading out for my workout session.
The brilliant thing about this recipe is its wide appeal. It doesn’t matter what your lifestyle or dietary preferences are, you’ll likely not realise that these muffins are vegan, low GI, refined sugar free and packed with nutritious ingredients. They taste as close to a “regular” style muffin as you can get, just without all the excess sugar and other nasty ingredients.
The two fruity stars of this recipe, bananas and blueberries, possess a host of nutritional benefits. The humble banana is high in potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. Bananas have been long valued for the prevention of muscle cramps, and also assist in keeping your energy levels steady. Their partners in crime for this recipe, blueberries, have an impressively high antioxidant capacity, which is essential to optimise health by helping combat the free radicals that can damage cellular structures and DNA. Antioxidants also contribute to brain health and has been found to improve memory. They’re extra potent fresh, so I always enjoy sneaking a few blueberries while I’m preparing this muffin recipe.
Perfect for those of us who with hectic lifestyle, these muffins make a super quick and easy grab-and-go option. But honestly, you shouldn’t discount them as only a quick take-out option. They’re also utterly delicious as a breakfast, dessert or a proper sit down snack. Eat them fresh and warm or smother them with your favourite nut butter for an extra treat.
If you are planning on keeping the muffins for your weekly snack, after they have cooled down, I would recommend that you wrap them individually or in twos with cling wrap and storing them in the freezer. This process will help keep the muffins fresh for at least one week or more.
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 3-4 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 180 grams of very ripe bananas (approximately 2 medium bananas)
- ¾ cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 cup blueberries
- Preheat oven to 190C.
- Sieve the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt (dry ingredients) into a bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Place the bananas, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla bean paste, maple syrup and coconut oil (wet ingredients) into a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and fold very gently with a spatula until combined. Be careful not to mix too vigorously otherwise the muffins will not be as fluffy.
- Add blueberries into the mix and fold gently until just combined.
- Pour the mix into a muffin tray. Approximately ¾ full per cup.
- Place the muffin tray into the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the tray for 5 minutes, and then remove each muffin to let cool on a cooling rack.
Kristina says
These look yummy. I always keep a stash of muffins in my freezer for a quick treat if I feel like one, these ones are going to join the repertoire. Thanks for the recipe!