Banana Muffins

Instead of eating store-bought bread which most of the time contains added chemicals to give it shelf-life, and unhealthy wheat flour, you can try Ila's Banana Muffins!
Easy to make and extremely delicious, these breakfast muffins won't disappoint the family!

You will need:

3 very ripe large bananas (4-5 if they are small)
2 cups spelt flour (or other)
¼ cup coconut oil
1/3 cup agave nectar syrup or 1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp warm water)
A few walnuts crushed (optional)
Cupcake paper shells or holders (optional)
2 muffin tins



Method:

Prepare muffin tins with paper or oil the tins well and set aside.

Make the flax egg and set aside.

Sift flour as much as you can, then dump the grain left in the sieve into the bowl. Add baking soda, sugar, salt and mix.

Mash banana well til it becomes a thick cream, add essence.

Into flour pour agave (if using instead of coconut sugar), flax egg, oil, crushed walnuts and banana mixture.

Add 3 tbs of cocoa powder if you wish to make chocolate muffins.

Mix well til a sticky, thick dough forms.

Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius or the low setting

Use a spoon and fill each space well with dough.

Place on top shelf of oven and let bake for exactly 12 minutes. Test with a knife to see if it comes out clean. Give no more than 15 minutes total, but the lower the flame the longer they may take. Any longer and they will burn especially without the paper shells. Should be golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and let cool a bit, then remove from tins and allow to cool completely. Enjoy warm, a thick, chewy muffin with just the right amount of sweetness!

Store in an airtight container. They taste even better on the second day! You will be sure to consume within two days but they can last for three.

 The perfect breakfast muffin, chewy, moist and semi-sweet!

Happy baking!
Ila

Liz's Spinach Muffins

I am so so excited to share the first recipe sent in by another RasTafari Sistren!

Liz Johnson lives in Oregon with her Kingman and two princes, and she has been a supporter of RastaWifeLine and all my works for a while now. 

Liz grows a beautiful Ital Kitchen Garden when the summer comes around, she is always an inspiration to I with her green thumb. I love to see her photos of her harvests!

Here is a picture of one of her daily garden hauls!

I would love to make a salad with all this goodness!

Today Liz has shared her Spinach Muffins with InI. You can try it for breakfast or for a snack for the family! I have put some alternatives in brackets which I would use

Spinach Muffins:

You will need:

2 cups Whole wheat flour or flour of choice (Spelt)
1/3-1/2 cup raw sugar or sweetener of choice (try coconut sugar or 1/2 cup agave nectar)
2 tsp baking powder (1 tbsp flax meal/powder + 3 tbsp warm water,  mix and set aside)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 coconut oil
3/4 unsweetened almond or hemp milk
6-8 oz. fresh baby spinach
1/2 mashed banana
2 tsp vanilla

Method:

Whisk dry ingredients and set aside.
In a blender- blend oil, milk, & spinach. Then add mashed bananas and vanilla and blend until just mixed.
Pour spinach mixture over dry ingredients and fold in until completely combined.
Oil 2-3 muffin pans and fill cups 3/4 full.
Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes.
Makes ~16-18 muffins.


Happy Baking Ital People!
Ila and Liz

Seasoned Savory ChickPea Ital Muffins

This recipe is a seasoned savory chickpea muffin that can be used as a protein snack for the family, or to compliment a brunch spread.

When these savory muffins have had a few hours to cool they become even thicker (you may feel to drink a little), because that is the nature of chickpea flour. They are not soft inside like a traditional muffin. To soften them up you might try adding to the mixture 1 blended banana, 1 cup of apple sauce or even 1 small blended plantain and give it a go!

While they taste pretty good on their own,  they can be sliced and made into sandwiches using fried plantain and toasted tomato or eggplant which you can just put in the toaster oven on some foil.

These muffins are sure to satisfy those mid-morning munchies, and as I said, are a shoo-in for any brunch or Ital gathering! As a bonus they are great little snacks for the entire family on the go!

Store in the fridge in ziploc or container, Give them a toast and they are perfect! Four days later, toasted with butter – pretty amazing still!

You will need:

2 cups chickpea flour
2 tbs flax meal
1 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp coconut oil
2 1/4 cup warm water
Ground seasonings ½ tsp: turmeric, cumin, ginger, dried oregano/basil

Fresh seasonings finely chopped:
1 tomato
½ onion
2 stalks chive/leeks stalks
1 leaf shadon beni (if you have)
1 pimento

(Very finely grated ginger, turmeric are optional instead of ground; and a finely grated carrot pumpkin or zucchini no more than ¼ cup can be added)

Large bowl
2 muffin tins or 1 bread tin
spoon



Method:
Set oven on low heat or around 120-130 C.

Mix all dry ingredients and ground or powdered seasonings well in large bowl.

Add oil and water, and mix.

Add the fresh seasonings and combine well.

It should form a thick, sticky dough, like a very thick batter.

Grease the muffin tins well with coconut oil first. Use the spoon to fill each muffin hole to the top with batter.

Set on the top rack of oven and allow to bake for no more than 40 minutes. By then they should be a nice brown colour, and a knife inserted should come out clean.

Cool then remove to a plate or cooling rack - I used a spoon and gently pried them out, they didn’t break. Allow to cool some more.

Just give them a try! I find them to satisfy cravings for fish if you are just starting a meatless diet!

Stay Ital and Blessed

Ila