Super foods special-Banana, Dates and Chia Seeds Muffin

Dear Readers,

I am back with a really yummy and healthy breakfast muffin recipe. You must be thinking yummy and healthy don't really go hand in hand but you will be surprised by this little beauty. The sweetness of the bananas and dates along with the goodness of oats, almonds and chia seeds makes for a very delicious and nutrient packed start to the day. 

Health benefits:

Chia seeds are one of the richest sources of  Omega 3 and are considered a super food. They are gluten free, high in protein (it's a complete protein with 8 amino acids) and Vitamin C. They improve our health and general well being and are incredibly versatile and easy to incorporate into our diets. Sprinkle over cereal, or add it to the bread dough, or add it to smoothies, muffins, cookies, the possibilities are endless.

Oats or Muesli add fibre to our diet and we all know how good oats are to reduce cholestrol levels and improve our cardiovascular health. Muesli is a combination of uncooked rolled oats, fruits and nuts and makes for a nourishing breakfast.

Dates are delicious and a great source of iron, dietary fibre, vitamin A, B and K and flavonoids like beta carotene and lutein, that  protect cells and other structures in the body from harmful effects of oxygen-free radicals.

Bananas are not only yummy but are a great source of potassium, magnesium and anti oxidants. They are easy to digest and gentle on the stomach, and that's the reason why mashed bananas are the first solid food gen to babies.

The combination of all these deliciously healthy ingredients makes these muffins a very healthy and yummy start to the day.This recipe is very forgiving, feel free to experiment with the proportions of ingredients to suit your needs. Enjoy!

Love,
Cookie

Recipe                                                                                               Print Recipe

yields 12-14

Ingredients
150 g Wholemeal Self Raising Flour (if not available use plain wholemeal flour and add 2 tsp baking powder for every cup of plain flour)
50 g Muesli or Oats - powdered (I grinded mine in a spice grinder)
50 g Almond meal (ground almonds)
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp nutmeg
a pinch of salt
60 g brown sugar
40 g Caster sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 over ripe bananas
60g Chopped dates
1 tbsp Chia seeds
5 tbsp vegetable oil
60 ml plain yoghurt

Tips:

1. You can reduce the sugar and replace with honey.

2. You can make the recipe gluten free by completely omit the flour and replace it with powdered muesli, it will make a slightly denser but delicious cake.


Method

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C and 160 C if fan forced.

Grind the oats/muesli to a fine powder and set aside. Put all the dry ingredients - flour, almond meal, powdered oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.

Muesli

In a large bowl crack the two eggs and whisk it with the sugar till combined. Now add the vanilla, mashed bananas, yoghurt and oil and mix everything well with a wooden spoon. 

Liquid ingredients

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix till well combined and lump free. Fold the chopped dates and chia seeds into the batter.

Chia seeds

Line a 12 cup muffin tray with cases and spoon the mixture into the cups equally. Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes till they are golden and well risen and a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the center of the muffins. Let them cool on a cooling rack and then store in an airtight container.

Muffins and tea

Enjoy!

Almost French-Mixed Berry Friands

Dear Readers,

Friands are a French cake made of egg whites, almond meal, butter and sugar and usually flavoured with berries. The cake is dense, moist and really delicious. I absolutely adore them, I have a little dream where I am sitting in a little French Cafe eating friands and crepes listening to La Vie en Rose, how touristy I know but it's my little French fantasy. 

I used to work at an architecture firm in Melbourne, we used to have morning tea every Monday morning and I was in charge of getting the goodies for it. It so happened that there was a cute little bakery called Almost French close to the office, which is where I used to get the sweet treats from and they made such good friands that I almost always bought them for morning tea. Good times!

My version is a mixed berry friand with a hint of vanilla. You can replace the almond meal with hazelnut meal or pistachio meal to mix things up and feel free to try different fruit combinations. I am thinking of trying orange, apricot and white chocolate friand next so watch this space. 

I really hope you enjoy these little French beauties,  I am feasting on one right now with a little side of creamy custard (I know its not traditional but who cares!) I was really looking forward to baking today as I got to try out my new novelty softy kitchen timer - cute isn't it :)  

Ok enough said, get baking y'all :-)

Love,
Cookie

Recipe                                                                                               Print Recipe

(Adapted from Exclusively Food)
Yields 6

Ingredients

100g butter
4 large egg whites 
45g plain flour
140g  pure icing sugar
85g almond meal
40 g Mixed berries
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Icing Sugar, for dusting

Method

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius or 170 degree Celsius if fan forced. 

Grease a 6 cup non stick friand pan or a muffin pan and keep it aside. 

Now melt the butter and keep it aside to cool. In a medium sized bowl whisk the egg whites for about a minute till they are aired and frothy. No need to whisk to soft peaks.

Sift the flour, icing sugar and almond meal into the egg whites and fold them in.

Add the melted butter and vanilla and mix till combined.
Pour the mixture equally in all the friand or muffin cups and top with frozen or fresh berries of your choice.

Bake for 25 minutes in the pre heated oven or till the friands turn golden brown in colour and spring back when the tops are pressed. A wooden skewer or knife inserted into the centre should come out clean.

Remove the friands and let them cool on a cooling rack. 

Once they have cooled sprinkle some icing sugar on it. You can serve the friands at room temperature or slightly warmed. Enjoy!

What to do with the remaining egg yolks? Why not make a creamy custard along with the friands! Here is the recipe.