very best banana cake muffins ever

I was busy getting our dinner off to a flying start one night last week, when out of the corner of my eye I spied my daughter sitting on the couch with a spoon in her mouth and the tin of milo in her lap...she looked like she was in heaven. The last I'd heard of her she was making a milk milo but obviously she decided to ditch the milk!  I instantly scolded her and got her to put it away.  

When I turned my back, a thought came over me.  Kids aren't allowed to have a binge, they aren't allowed to have a bad day, they aren't allowed to have the poops or sulk, or play hookey or be naughty or yell, or scream in frustration....they really have to be seen as perfect all the time.  I wonder why this has happened? Such pressure for them to live under.

 I turned back around and opened the cupboard and gave her the tin and a spoon and she had the biggest smile on her face.  Truthfully, she probably only had a few big tablespoons worth but it was just wonderful to see her so content with such a simple guilty pleasure.  

Anyway, something that will be eaten, possibly late at night, straight from the freezer, is this recipe for the very best banana cake ever and cook along with the lovely Lorraine from NQN ...ok so I made them into muffins but it helps with portion control :)  It's a strange recipe that has a low cooking temperature and then the muffins/cake is put straight into the freezer to cool.  Have a read of Lorraines post and recipe and tell me you aren't in faux sara lee heaven!!  The batter made 18 muffins and they were baked for 1 hour instead of the 2 hours for the cake. Oh, and be warned that the cream cheese icing is so freakin addictive, it was lucky to make it onto the muffins.  We did have lots of precious licks of the beaters and swipes of the bowl that I'm sure is naughty but oh so nice.

Ciao, Jan x

My super food immune boosting smoothie and week 4 of the 52 week money challenge

Every morning for awhile now I've been slurping on a smoothie for my breakfast.  I love walking out to the garden and picking the ingredients for this, and the herbs and spinach benefit from the daily picking as it encourages more growth. I've been unwell of late so have been drinking this to gain the  myriad of health benefits that are packed in it instead of taking an expensive handful of vitamins I feel I must be lacking.  It may not look pretty, as it is blended in it's pure form but it packs a mean punch which I actually really like and it keeps my tummy sated from breakfast until lunch. 

So whats in my super food smoothie?  A very generous handful of spinach, a small banana, a small handful of blueberries, a few stawberries that may be ready, a handful of both mint and parsley, 1 tspn of chia seeds, 1 tspn of flaxseeds, and filtered water.  Occasionally I will add a dollop of yoghurt also.  Pop it all into a blender and go your hardest.  If it's too thick just keep adding more water until you get it to a drinkable consistency.

Spinach is a powerhouse of nutrients, namely protein, vitamin A, K, C, B, iron, folate, magnesium, manganese, fiber and antioxidants.

You do need to use it up quickly as little as 8 days after harvest it loses a lot of these super food qualities.  For this reason, grab yourself a big pot and grow some perennial spinach, it will save you $'s and be ready for you to keep picking for weeks and weeks each morning as fresh as a daisy.

Chia seeds are an amazing little seed.  They contain lots nutrients and lots of protein so keep you fuller for longer and is great if you are trying to move some of the Christmas cheer off your belly.  When a chia seed is hit with water, it forms a coating of gel, increasing it's size and weight without adding calories.  It is easily added to lots of your cooking~baking-sweet & savoury, salads, smoothies, cereal and anything you would use nuts or seeds for.  I love to dip a banana into them for an afternoon snack that really satisfies.  

Berries are a powerhouse of antioxidants and nutrients that aren't lost when frozen which is great as I buy an organic frozen brand of my blueberries.  They are low GI, improve heart health, high in Vitamin c, potassium and fiber and they have been linked to protecting your cells from damage that can lead to cancer and it helps that they look and taste great too.

Parsley has the potential to help keep your immune system strong, tone your bones and heal the nervous system as well.  It is packed with Vitamins A, B12, C and K, folic acid and is known the help with joint pain as it has anti-inflammatory properties.  Pretty amazing huh.

Mint has soothing properties that help the digestive tract and severity of stomachaches.  It is a strong diuretic and therefore helps eliminate toxins from the body.  Mint is high in Vitamin A & C, iron, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, calcium and copper.

Flaxseeds are another amazing little fella.  They are hailed as being a fat burning seed as they can fire up your metabolism.  They have omega 3's, very high in fibre, rich in antioxidants, B Vitamins, potassium and protein.

Are you keen to give it a try?  Do you already drink 'green' smoothies? Your insides will thank you!  If you really can't stomach this type of smoothie for breakfast, you can have it for lunch or add all of these ingredients to a salad for a flavour packed bowl of deliciousness.

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Week 4 of the 52 week money challenge so go and add your $4 to your money box.  It's not to late to start!!

Ciao, Jan.

Bananas for bananas

Bananas. I remeber being one of the people paying over $20 a kilo for these babies after the terrible storms in Queensland a few years ago.  I've loved them since falling for the scent in a big M hoola hoop I won at the local show probably circa 1981, I'm not kidding! That heady scent stayed with me and once they became available more readily in the late 80's I don't think I've gone many a day without one.  I love them sliced on my cereal for breakfast, as a snack sliced on rice cakes with a smidge of  honey, banana smoothies, topped on to greek yoghurt with a sprinkle of nuts, on fruit toast but an old time fav has to be banana bread.  I struggle to keep my bananas til the skins are really dark and ripe as I eat them too quickly, but lucky for me my fruit monger often bags bundles of them up for a steal that are perfect for this recipe.

Banana bread

3 large ripe bananas

3 eggs

180gms melted butter

1 1/2 cups s.r.flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbspns honey

Preheat oven to 180c.  

Blend bananas and honey in a food processor, or use a fork and mash & mix well.  Sift flour into a large bowl and add sugar, and banana mixture. Using a hand beater or your elbow grease, add butter and mix in well, adding an egg at a time.  

Unload into a greased and lined loaf tin and bake for around 45 minutes.  Allow to cook slightly in tin and then place onto a wire rack to cool before you slice it up, don't be stingy, nice thick slices.  

My nan loves it with butter but I love it on its own or with a spread of thick greek yoghurt and walnuts its dreamy.

Ciao, Jan

thrifty, easy muffins for the lunch box

This past Sunday was a gorgeous rainy winters day, perfect to warm up the house with the oven all ready to fill the freezer for the coming school week, or work week for that matter.

I love making these little muffins as they contain a lot of fruit, very little oil and sometimes some vegies and are a little treat for the lunchbox without too much guilt.  

I have people say to me all the time "but I don't have the time" or this gem "I hate cooking" well these are so simple and can be done in minutes, they almost make themselves. 

I like to use a base of grated or microplaned apples and mashed banana but you can also add carrot, zucchini, berries - fresh or frozen, dates, apricots, coconut, choc chips all in small handfuls from this base recipe but not all together!  Walnuts or almonds sprinkled on top are great too but school has a no nut policy, party poopers. Half a strawberry, or a couple of choc chips or a few frozed blueberries in the bottom of the patty pan before you put the mixture on adds a little surprise. 

Sometimes instead of hundreds and thousand sprinkles I will make a mixture of icing sugar and water, a touch of pink food colouring and drizzle this over once they are cool.

They are a great way to use up some cheap fruit or whatevers in your cupboard or freezer without forking out for expensive pre-packaged muffins or muesli bars.  I brought a 6 pkt of apples from aldi for a few $'s this week which will all become cooked treats.  I think this batch of a dozen cost less than $3 and will last over 2 weeks allowing one each weekday, pretty good I'd say, oh and one or two as tasters just out of the oven.  Freeze them to add to the lunchbox and they will be defrosted in time for morning tea, your kids will love you for them.

Apple and banana muffins

2 cups s.r. flour, sifted

1 tspn bicarb soda, sifted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oats

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup milk 

2 eggs, whisked

a dash of vanilla essense

2-3 apples, grated with no need to peel

1 medium ripe banana, mashed

1 tspn cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 180c.

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a jug mix together all wet ingredients and fruit. Add wet to dry. Don't over mix, doesn't matter if all the flour isn't perfectly incorporated.

Perfect for little fingers to squelch

Line a muffin tray with patty pans. Use an icecream scoop to place dough into patties. Top with sprinkles if using them. Bake for approx 25 minutes.

Do you have any little cakes or slices you bake for the freezer? Would love to hear if you do.  I'm always on the look out for new things to bake.

Ciao, Jan