I don’t consider myself the most tech-savvy person, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve from time to time. One of my “tricks” (which is probably common knowledge, mind you) is filtering out email addresses from my inbox. Like many of you, I receive a frightening amount of press releases and other spam. You know the ones that start out like, “Regards Webmaster” or “Dear [any name except your own]”.
To help combat my spam woes, I started filtering out email addresses a couple years ago. If you use Gmail, you probably already know about this filtering feature. The beauty is that if you receive an email from an unwanted recipient you simply click “more” and then “Filter messages like these” and then choose how you filter out the email. That way, if they should try to spam you again from the same email (and you know they will) the message will go straight to the archive, trash, etc. – whichever you prefer! I’ve noticed a huge improvement in my inbox, cutting down unwanted emails by probably 50% over the past couple years. It’s quite amazing to see how many are filtered out each day! You can also use the filtering feature to have emails sent directly into folders of your choosing.
So, back to not being the most tech-savvy person.
Last week we were getting ready to leave on a trip to visit my family. In preparation, I somehow managed to create an email filter that sent all new/unread emails straight into my trash bin. Who knew that was even possible? I still have no clue how it happened…I swear! So all last week, I was in this blissful state of ignorance thinking that I was having a rather “light” week for email. [We all know that doesn’t happen unless it’s Christmas holidays. fool!]
Do you know how good that week felt though? I was free!
When we returned home, I realized something was majorly wrong because I wasn’t even getting my own emails (yes, I email myself…not weird at all…). When a girl can’t get her own emails that’s where I draw the line! So the investigation began. Eric, tech-ninja-genius, suggested I check my trash and spam bins. There, in the trash bin among the lowly filtered-out spam, I found emails from my family, friends, publisher contacts, editor, blog readers, and fact checkers. Dear Lord what did I do? I was getting follow-up emails like, “I haven’t heard from you yet, please reply ASAP!!!!” and then I had to try to explain that I created a filter that sent their emails to the trash. It wasn’t my proudest techy moment.
Tech-ninja fixed the problem and I’m back in email action and caught up, but I will never forget that week of freedom. It almost brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.
Lesson learned: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, like these vegan blueberry muffins…
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Blueberry Banana Muffins
Yield
12 large muffins
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Delightful, healthy banana blueberry walnut muffins made with spelt flour so they are naturally wheat-free (but keep in mind that spelt has gluten in it). If blueberries aren't in season, I suggest using frozen blueberries and saving the fresh ones for summer baking. You can also leave out the walnuts and swap the almond milk for coconut milk if you'd like a nut-free version.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (210 mL) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) coconut oil, melted
- 2 cups (280 g) white spelt flour
- 4 to 6 tablespoons (40 to 60 g) coconut sugar or natural cane sugar*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (50 g) walnut halves, chopped (optional)
- 1 1/4 cups (160 g) frozen or fresh blueberries**
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a muffin tin.
- In a medium bowl, mash bananas and measure out 3/4 cup. If you have any leftover mashed banana you can freeze it for a smoothie.
- Place mashed banana into medium bowl along with the milk, vinegar, maple syrup, and vanilla. No need to stir it yet.
- Melt the coconut oil in a small pot over low heat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda).
- Stir coconut oil into the wet mixture. Pour wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix as spelt is a fragile little flour.
- Gently fold in the walnuts and then the blueberries, being sure not to overmix as this can result in dense muffins.
- Spoon a heaping 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin tin, filling each tin about 3/4 full (they will be almost full, but this is normal). I like to press a few extra blueberries on top of each so they look pretty after baking.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 23 to 27 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. I baked them for 25 minutes.
- Cool in pan for 5 to 8 minutes and then transfer muffins to a cooling rack and cool for another 15 minutes.
Tip:
- * When using ripe, spotty bananas I find 4 tablespoons of sugar is plenty sweet, however if your bananas aren't overripe, you might need to use the full 6 tablespoons. Add to your taste.
- ** If using frozen blueberries, be sure to leave them in the freezer (do not thaw) until just before you stir them into the batter. This helps prevent bleeding.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Awesome, so delicious
These muffins look fantastic, Angela. How can I adapt them to a gluten free version?
Did anyone else have to add more almond milk? The batch was really dry. Not sure what i did wrong, but they’re dense and didn’t rise much. Maybe my baking soda was old. I made these with Coconut Flour, not sure if that makes a difference. The taste is good, and they’re moist, but the coconut flour is a bit grainy. My cats and dogs like them.
Rating is for taste, and operator error on my part.
You can’t substitute coconut flour 1:1 in recipes, it will absorb much more liquid, that’s where you went wrong!
Do you think I could swap the bananas, like just not put them in the mix?
Made a batch of these muffins Friday night and they’re a new favorite! They turned out absolutely delightful — fluffy, moist, full of flavor without being too sweet. I did make a couple of substitutions based on what I had on hand, i.e., coconut milk for almond milk and a mix of AP flour and whole wheat pastry flour instead of the spelt flour. Thank you for creating this easy and tasty recipe!
Hi Martha, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the muffins, and that they turned out well with your substitutions!! Thanks for the lovely comment.
I made these muffins last week and they were delicious! I loved all the ingredients in this recipe! I was just wondering, can I make this into a loaf?
Good lord, these muffins are delicious. They are tender, have an deep earthy flavor and I love the bursts of warm blueberries. Angela, I’m wondering if you have any ideas for boosting the protein level in these babies. Might be tough to maintain the delicate texture, but maybe it’s possible?
My favorite muffins! Time and time again.
Just made these and they are so yummy! The best blueberry muffin I ever made or tasted. Loving spelt flour. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that, Brenda!
I have tried these with coconut milk when I don’t have almond milk – just as yummy!
Good to know that swap works, Emma! :) Thanks for sharing.
I only have whole grain spelt flour…do you know if that would work?
These were wonderful and I only used 3 Tablespoons of coconut sugar. I am going to experiment with other fruits and nuts as I this seems a good basic recipe.
I made these but used coconut milk as my son has a tree nut allergy and used grated carrot and apple instead of blueberries (because I started the recipe and realized I was out of frozen blueberries.
Excellent recipe! Flavor & texture are really delicious. I cooked them 27 minutes (toothpick not clean at 25 minutes) and will probably do 28 or 29 minutes next time. My organic frozen blueberries were large & I used the full 1 & 1/4 cups, plus pressed more into the tops… and the muffins with a lot of blueberries could have baked an additional minute or two, as they were just a touch underdone. Granted, this cooking time yielded incredibly moist muffins– so it depends on your preference, I suppose. Also I used paper cupcake liners, (my muffin pan is old), which were slightly smaller than the openings in the pan. This left me with enough for 13 good-sized muffins… but could be the reason some muffins were a tad underdone (as the batter directly against the pan would probably have cooked quicker). Best healthy muffin recipe I’ve ever made– you won’t be disappointed!
I just made these and am waiting for them to cool. Mine are really underdone and I left them in for an additional 5 minutes. I think it could be the cupcake liners. But am not sure. I think if I tried them again I would not use them.
Great recipe! I didn’t have any blueberries so I added vegan carob chips instead. My three picky kids and the Hubby loved it. Thanks for sharing
I ran out of the full quantity of the blueberries so substituted 3/4 of the amount with raspberries and OMG they were divine, the raspberries made it so moist. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Blueberry-raspberry muffins? That sounds lovely, Nicole!
These are delish! The second time I made them, I was halfway thru the recipe and realized I didn’t have any blueberries. I substituted one grated carrot and one grated apple and they turned out great.
Just made these today. They are awesome, sweet, really moist. I made with 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour. Not sure how this worked without using eggs but I will definitely make them again. Only thing wrong was it only made 14 muffins ,wishing I had doubled the recipe.
Leona
How many calories does this have?
Hey Christian, I’m sorry, I don’t have that calculation on hand, but if you head over to an online tool like nutritiondata.com or caloriecount.com, you should be able to find out the nutritional data fairly quickly! Hope that helps.
Hey there! This is now my third time making these muffins, I’ve gotten nothing but raving friends chowing down, so thank you for this! I added a raspberry on top to the middle of my last batch for cuteness and replaced 1/2 cup of flour with almond/flax meal. So yummy!!! Thanks again.
Erin
So glad they’re a winner, Erin :) That raspberry addition sounds like a lovely touch!