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.

Blueberry, Goats Cheese & Thyme Galette

This is a really delicious, oozy galette made with a spelt crust. It's equally good eaten as a tiny sliver alone for dessert or with a salad as great lunch. I have been really getting in to adding more savoury type herbs to sweet ingredients. It started out as a way to use more of the herbs that I'm growing but continued because there is really something to it, I like how the herbs bring there own sophisticated flavour to a syrup, jam or cake which could otherwise be a little too sweet. This recipe would work equally well with all of the blackberries filling the Irish hedgerows at the moment.

Ingredients:

Spelt pastry

• 250g spelt flour
• Pinch of sea-salt
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 80ml cold water, you may not need the full amount.

Filling

• 75g goat's cheese, crumbled
• 200g blueberries
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Glaze

• 1 egg, beaten

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºC/Gas 5.

2. Add the spelt flour and sea-salt to a mixing bowl, stir together. Add the olive oil and honey and mix well. Slowly add the water bit by bit until the mix comes together to form a dough. Pat it into a round and place in the fridge to rest for an hour.

3. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured board to a large round. Then begin to crumble a base of goat's cheese in the centre of the round, leaving at least an inch for the pastry boarder. Layer the blueberries on top of the goat's cheese, then fold in the pastry sides to keep the filling in place. Scatter the thyme sprigs over the blueberries, then drizzle the honey over the top. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.

4. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and cooked through.

Blueberry & Oat Cookies

This is a tasty cookie recipe that contains only 4 ingredients & are really quick to prepare. They are perfect for when you are craving something sweet. The addition of peanut butter, which naturally contains protein and fats, will help to keep you feeling fuller for longer and avoid any blood sugar dips.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 90g oats
• 125g peanut butter
• 100g coconut sugar
• 125g blueberries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4. Place a sheet of baking paper onto a baking tray.
2. Mix together the oats, peanut butter and coconut sugar until well combined. Add the blueberries and stir through.
3. Shape into small rounds with your hands and lay them out on the baking paper. Leaving enough space for them to spread a little in the oven.
4. Bake for about 12 minutes, then leave to cool on a wire rack to cool and firm up.