Posts Tagged: bananas

4 Ingredient Oat Bars [Wheat-Free]

Title Image That’s it that’s all. I had a whole whack of ripe bananas to get rid of again. Okay, I purposefully purchase bananas in excess so that I can make nana ice-cream, banana bread, muffins, cakes, smoothies, popsicles, etc. They are pretty much the perfect food, adding sweetness, texture/consistency and elasticity to baked goods and creaminess to blended desserts.

So. Onto the bars. They make a great snack, quick breakfast on-the-go, or dessert crumbled up with coconut or regular yogurt or that banana ice cream I mentioned. Or straight up ice cream if you’re feeling hardcore and your body doesn’t hate you after eating dairy …

Quinoa, Spelt: Banana Blueberry Muffins

The ultimate breakfast, (anytime) muffin. These moist and not-too-sweet morsels were created out of the usual need for me to feed the WSL healthy snacks and mix up his breakfast menu. Also, I have a friend who recently gave birth to baby no. 2. She was wishing on FB for a really good muffin, and I noted her previous posts on having to avoid dairy/sugar when nursing the newbie. So. I played. A few rounds later and I was satisfied.<!–more–>

How much healthy can one pack into baked goods you ask? Lots! And why not? If it tastes good? Ahm, isn’t a no-brainer? Of course I covet the usual sugar and butter laden treats like most – but not for everyday. Some of us have dietary concerns, allergies and nursing. Oooo, yes – newborns are finicky little miracles. I’m all about not totally restricting my diet if certain foods cause my little sweetie gas (=discomfort and CRYING). Lets have us some options! Because food and health are beautiful things. Hence these quinoa, spelt, flax, oatmeal, blueberry banana muffins. Spelt flour is delicious, nutritious and slightly nutty coupling beautifully with protein packed quinoa. You may have read some of my previous posts where I go on about how it has a lower gluten, therefore carb count, therefore fat, than in white or whole what flour. I could go on to surmise that carbs are responsible for the current crisis in overdone hispster fashion, explains why Adobe and Apple can’t make nice, and is indubitably why Harper is is just plain evil.

Alright, enough blathering and on with the recipe. This is a double whammy, so decrease the ingredients by 1/2 if you really want, but why bother? These suckers freeze beautifully.

What You’ll Need:

* 2 cups of cooked quinoa
* 2 cups of fresh organic blueberries
* 6 ripe bananas, mashed
* 4 tablespoons flax seeds
* 8 tablespoons of water
* 2/3 cup of sunflower oil
* 1/2 cup maple syrup (the real thing, no high fructose corn syrup knock offs yo)
* 1/2 cup of agave nectar
* 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
* 2 teaspoon vanilla
* 4 cups of spelt flour
* 2 tablespoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon cardamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups of oatmeal

How You Do:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Oil a muffin pan or use disposable muffin paper cups. You can find recycled and compostable paper cups easily nowadays. Go green. Put the flax seeds and water in a blender and shazam until crushed and gelatinous. This is actually the binding agent (along with the bananas), and replaces eggs in some vegan baked recipes. Flax is also rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Good for the brain and mood, and growing babies, ya. Use it anytime you would dig a nutty earthy flavor. Place in a bowl and mix in the oil, maple syrup, apple sauce, mashed bananas and vanilla.

Stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamon, salt and 1 cup of the oatmeal (save the other 1 for the topping), together in a medium bowl. Add the wet to the dry, do not over mix. Gently fold in the quinoa and the blueberries. Divide evenly among the muffin tins (I like to use an oiled ice-cream scoop), and sprinkle with the remaining oatmeal. Mayhaps some brown sugar for added crunch. I even sprinkled some flax seeds on top. Do’er up. Bake at 375 degrees for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick comes cleans and muffins are lightly browned on top. Et Voila! Butter up generously (especially since there is none in the muffin!) and devour. Share.

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