Blueberry & Banana Muffins

These are the type of thing I make a batch of at least once a week & always have to hand to fill in as breakfast or snack on the go. They’re super easy to make & you can switch out the blueberries for any other kind of berries when in season or use frozen during the winter months. Freeze your own if you have the freezer space or I like the Irish brand Bunalun as their frozen berries come in small paper boxes which are recyclable so preferable to soft plastic packaging which is not currently recyclable here.

Makes about 10-12 muffins (depending on baking case size)

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, mashed

• 2 eggs, whisked

• 4 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 200g ground almonds/almond meal

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• Pinch of sea-salt

• 75g blueberries

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180℃/350℃/Gas 4 and line a muffin tray with baking cases

2. Whisk together the bananas, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla extract.

3. In a separate bowl mix the ground almonds, baking powder, cinnamon and sea-salt. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

4. Add the blueberries and fold into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking cases, place into the oven and bake for about 25mins or until a skewer comes out of the centre clean.

Peachy pink smoothie

This is a lovely Summery smoothie, which uses two of my favourite Summer fruits; donut peaches and Irish strawberries. I get so excited when is see donut peaches back at the market, they are so sweet and fragrant. You could of course use any type of peach for this smoothie but as you can tell I have a bias towards the donut variety. Did you also know that peaches can be grown in Ireland? Well I have seen them in West Cork anyway so it's my goal to try and grow my own in the future, any hints and tips are welcome from anyone with peach growing expertise!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 x donut peaches, roughly chopped
• 1 x banana, peeled and chopped
• 500g strawberries, washed & hulled
• 2 tbsp rice protein powder
• 300ml almond milk

topping:

• bee pollen

METHOD:

1. Pop all the ingredients into the blender and pulse until creamy and smooth, adding a little extra almond milk if necessary. I like my smoothies quite thick so you can eat with a spoon & often do just that, adding toppings and eating like a smoothie bowl. If you prefer thinner simply add more liquid.
2. Once blended, top with be pollen or any superfoods of your choice & enjoy!