BLUEBERRY, WILD OATS & BANANA MUFFINS

Dear friends, beware, these are super healthy, in fact there is no sugar to be found in them, except of course in the fresh blueberries and bananas, oh and a little in the yoghurt. These are probably the kind of muffins you would find on the menu in a Healthy cafe in trendy Byron Bay (New South Wales) or Cairns (Queensland) but there they would be served with a drizzle of maple syrup or exotic homemade ice cream beside them.

 I don't count calories as such,  but it is Mr. HRK's birthday this weekend, which means some eating out and decadent treats, so this week we are pacing ourselves in anticipation. Do you do that, if not, I assure you it comes with the advancement of maturity, ha, ha. The weird thing is that when I am cutting back on sugar which I normally don't have a lot of anyway, my body just yearns for it, and these are perfect as they can be pulsed in the food processor in a jiffy, and cooked in 15 minutes. We ate these for brunch, however they are just as delicious for breakfast with coffee, or just for a snack in between meals. I found this recipe in the "CSIRO Healthy Gut" book and it intrigued me, as this isn't the way I normally cook, but these are a refreshing change, with all very healthy ingredients,  and a cinch to make.

Let's cook:

Preheat the oven to 200 deg. C. or 180 deg. C (fan-forced). I cooked mine in well greased silicon muffin trays, however paper lined muffin cases in a 12 hole muffin tray is a practical and attractive option.

Ingredients:

Makes 12

100 g natural Greek style yoghurt, lactose free if you must
2/3 cup (60g) raw rolled oats, not the fast cooking variety
2 bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
125 g punnet fresh blueberries
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Finely grated zest of 1 orange, preferably home grown but otherwise well washed

Method:

Place all of the ingredients except the blueberries, in the bowl of your food processor and pulse to just blend. The mixture will still be fairly coarse.

Fold the blueberries in gently.

Spoon the batter evenly into the paper cases, which will just half fill them, then bake for 15 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out clean. They need to be well cooked on top and set on the bottom.

Cool them in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.  They will need to be left in a silicon tray for at least 10 minutes, as the base will need to cool down and firm up because of the amount of fruit in the muffin. Carefully ease out from the muffin hole and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve with a dollop of yoghurt on the side, and a very light dusting of icing sugar if you wish. They should also keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days for snacking on.

Eat these, enjoy and feel healthy and guilt free.

Thanks for dropping by,

Best wishes

Pauline