Nutty Banana and Blueberry Muffins

Easy, healthy and utterly delicious!

I wanted to take some of my usual breakfast ingredients and throw them together to make an easy, portable breakfast. I tend to leave the sugar/honey out of these muffins when I make them as the banana is sweet enough. This is so individual, it all depends on what your tastes buds have got used to. In the muffins are some of my all time favs – oats, extra virgin olive oil, blueberries and almonds.

Here’s why: Oats contain insoluble and soluble fibre, which means you get fewer sugar spikes, a happier gut and gut bacteria. Berries contain anthocyanins, a phytonutrient that has all round health benefits especially for your liver. Almonds contain protein, minerals, fat soluble vitamins and great healthy oils. And then there’s extra virgin olive oil, a standout in the good fat category. It contains phytosterols, which naturally lower ‘bad’ (LDL) cholesterol and has anti-inflammatory actions throughout the body, including helping to balance hormones. Don’t be afraid to use it in cooking. The International Olive Oil Council says, “When heated, extra virgin olive oil is the most stable fat, which means it stands up well to high temperatures. Its high smoke point 210ºC (410ºF) is well above the ideal temperature for frying food. The digestibility of olive oil is not affected when it is heated.” 

250g (about 1 ½ mugs) oat flour*
125 mls extra virgin olive oil
100g (approx. ⅓ mug) coconut sugar or honey or maple syrup
2 large eggs
2 – 3 large ripe bananas, peeled and fork mashed (saving some banana for decorating)
2 teaspoons baking powder
200g (1 mug) ground almonds (almond meal)** 
150g (½ mug) yoghurt
250g (1 large handful) blueberries or other dark berry (fresh or frozen)

* Oat flour is super easy to make yourself. Simply pop the whole rolled oats into a dry food processor and blend until it forms a rough flour texture.
** Almond meal is really easy to make too, by popping whole raw almonds into a food processor or high powder smoothie maker and pulsing until ground.  

Set oven to 180ºC or 170ºC fan forced.
Line the muffin tins with paper or grease them well with some extra virgin olive oil.
Pop all the ingredients except the blueberries into a food processor or a large bowl, and mix until well combined. If the mixture is still quite thick, thin it with a little water or extra yoghurt.
Then fold through the blueberries.
Divide into the tins and bake for about 17-20 minutes.
Check with a skewer to see if the mixture is cooked through. If making as a whole cake, scrape the mixture into a parchment-paper-lined baking tin approx. 18cm in diameter.
Bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes.