I was glad to have tried out smoothie bowls recently. They were my saving grace. Healthy, full of flavor and their amazing ‘cool you down from the inside out’ quality made them a regular occurrence in my kitchen. The first one I tried was this Mango Smoothie Bowl and this blueberry version was really delicious too. I had some blueberries that I should have finished sooner, but I didn’t want to waste them so they went right in the bowl for some color. If you love blueberries, this treat is a must try if you are looking for a healthy summer cooler.
A few ingredients and a minute in the blender and a bowl is all you need to whip up this bowl of deliciousness, so I do hope you try it out.
Blueberry Smoothie Bowl
1 ripe banana, frozen
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup milk
4 tbsp Greek yogurt
For the topping –
Sweetened coconut chips
Fresh blueberries
Almonds
Place the banana, blueberries, milk and yogurt in a blender and blitz on slow at first.
Scrape down the sides and blitz till you are left with a soft serve sort of consistency.
Pour this mix into a bowl.
Top with some sweetened coconut chips, fresh blueberries and almonds.
Serve chilled.
Banana Oat Blueberry Pancakes
Last week I had 2 over ripe bananas and its been so hot, I had no intention of switching the oven on to make the banana bread. I kept putting off the tea-time fritters and yesterday I decided I had to use the bananas and if I left them anymore, I’d probably have to throw them out. I hate wasting food so that was out of the question. The plan that morning was to make some oatmeal for breakfast, but then it struck me I could use the bananas with the oats and do something with that. I remember a while ago, coming across a banana oat pancake recipe and decided to try it out. Now, those of you who’ve been visiting for a while know I love my pancakes. So what could be better than combining my love for bananas and pancakes. Nothing much right! So breakfast that morning was sorted. I blitzed the ingredients in the blender and added a few fixin’s like fresh blueberries and roughly sliced almonds. I think Jamie Oliver would have been happy with me. I really like his philosophy on superfoods. Eat a variety of fresh produce in moderation and everything acts as a superfood. I figure the addition of the berries and almonds would amp up these pancakes to superfood status. I googled a few recipes but in the end just ended up throwing a few things together and I tell you it was great. I was really pleased with how the pancakes turned out.
Basically this recipe uses no refined flour and no refined sugar and you’ll never miss them. We did use some maple syrup over the pancakes to sweeten the deal, but who can resist maple syrup over pancakes. Definitely not me 🙂
I hope you give these pancakes a try. They deliver taste and health together.
Banana Oat Blueberry Pancakes
Makes 6 pancakes
1 cup rolled oats
2 over ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
A handful of fresh blueberries
12-15 roasted almonds, roughly sliced
A pinch of salt
A little oil, to fry the pancakes (I use olive oil, but you could any oil of your choice)
Maple syrup, to drizzle over
Blitz the oats in a blender till you are left with a powder.
Add the bananas, eggs, a pinch of salt and the vanilla extract. Blitz till you are left with a nice batter.
Scrape the sides down and give it another quick blitz.
Pour the batter in a large bowl and add the sliced almonds and blueberries and fold through gently, making sure they are evenly distributed.
Heat a little oil in a pan, about half a teaspoon. I use an oil spray to reduce the amount of oil being used.
Carefully ladle some batter onto the pan. Cook on medium heat.
When the bottom edge looks like its getting a little color, gently lift a portion of the pancake. If you are happy with the cooking on that side, flip the pancake and let it cook on the second side too.
Repeat with a spray of oil and a ladle of batter for every pancake till you finish the batter.
Serve warm with some maple syrup.
Enjoy!!!
SRC: Blueberry Muffins
Mind you, with a blog like Love and Flour, LeAndra has a ton of recipes that will take you by the hand, lead you to the kitchen and urge you to make them. Before I decided on these muffins, I was considering the Banana Rum Cake, Marbled Chocolate & Vanilla Quick Bread, Tiramisu Bread Pudding (I still intend making this soon), or on the savory side this Corn Pudding and these Crab Cakes. I was torn between these choices so I was really glad when the Blueberry Muffins spoke up 🙂
The muffins were easy to make. The batter came together really quick and then all it took was 20 minutes in the oven. I pretty much stuck to the recipe except for the cinnamon powder. I used it but just reduced the amount compared to what the original recipe called for. I couldn’t seem to figure where it went, so I just added it to the sugary topping mix. Another thing I noticed was that the ingredient list had white sugar mentioned twice, I considered that a typo. Also, something I was really excited about was, for a change, I managed to get the actual yield that the recipe suggested. Happy days!!!
On another note, check out these cupcake liners I picked up at the supermarket a couple of days ago. They look like so much fun. I baked the muffins in these liners and I think it would be a fantastic way to add muffins to a kids birthday party dessert spread.
Back to the muffins. These blueberry muffins were amazing. They weren’t too sweet, just the way I like it. I loved the flavor that the cinnamon added. And those bursts of delicious berries with the light crunch of the sugary topping were something else altogether. In all, I’d consider this the perfect muffin. Its everything I look for in a muffin and so much more. Do yourself a favor and make them soon.
And don’t forget to hop on over to LeAndra’s blog and say Hi.
Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided in half
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Zest of 1 lemon, divided in half
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients – 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the cinnamon powder and half the lemon zest.
In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients – the flour, brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and 1/2 the zest.
In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients – the milk, oil and egg.
Stir in the dry ingredients till combined.
Fold in the blueberries.
Spoon the batter into the lined muffin tin, filling almost to the top.
Sprinkle with the topping mix.
Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes or till a toothpick pierced through the middle comes out clean.
Enjoy!!!
