
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…



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)
These muffins have been the biggest hit at my house right now !! I subbed the spelt flour with oat flour and used only dates as the sweetener(mixed in with the banana puree) and they were absolutely amazing ! Best vegan muffins I’ve had ! Gluten free, sugar free, and vegan. Thanks so much for the recipe :)
So happy to hear you’re enjoying them, Sara! It’s great to hear that those swaps worked for you–thanks for sharing.
My toddler son won’t eat blueberry muffins. As much as I wish he would. But instead I tried pureeing the blueberries along with the bananas (it’s most likely a texture thing… which is why I didn’t add nuts either). But…ok. The muffins look kind of like mud… But when I gave them to him he ate all of it and he even asked for seconds! … toddlers are funny. But happy to get him to eat blueberries.
I love this recipe. I’ve made these a LOT. Thank you! Tip-blend the bananas first in a blender so they’re nice and smooth.
This is a really good recipe – I always double it.
I’ve used chocolate chips instead of blueberries, when I don’t have the berries, and I use a mix of regular whole grain spelt flour, and sprouted whole grain spelt flour (1/2 and 1/2).
They bake up beautifully, and, only if I hide or freeze a few, do they last beyond one day. :-)
Wow! I found this recipe a few days ago and already I’ve made a second batch! They’re amazing. I don’t think anyone believes me when I say that I made them, because I’m usually terrible at baking! Thanks so much for this recipe! :D
Hey Iain, I’m so glad to hear that the muffins were a hit! They’re a fave around here. :)
Made these with GF Robin Hood flour mix and they turned out amazing. Thanks!!
I’m so happy to hear the GF flour swap worked Charlotte! Score :)
Awesome, made them ,love them and will make again and again
So happy to hear that Lana!
I made these but added 2 vegan eggs (flax eggs!!) They are divine!!!!
I made these yesterday too :) So happy you enjoyed them!
Hi there,
Can I use buckwheat or gf oat flour instead of spelt?
Thank you
Hey Bernadetta, Good question! I’ve only tried these with spelt so far so I’m not sure. Buckwheat flour can yield quite dense baked goods, so I would probably opt to try oat flour first. If you try anything out please let us know how it goes. :)
made these the other day & they are AMAZING!!!! Next time i’ll reduce the sugar as i found them a bit too sweet. I’ll be making them again soon for sure…just waiting for the bananas on hand to ripen ;)
I made these two days ago & they are AMAZING! i didn’t have Spelt flour so i used 50/50 whole wheat flour & all purpose flour & they turned out great. they were moist & so yummy. Next time i am going to reduce the amount of sugar as i found them a tad bit too sweet. AMAZING RECIPE. A MUST TRY.
I used whole wheat spelt flour and coconut milk. I was low on blueberries, so I threw some chopped frozen cherries in there as well… I also doubled the maple syrup and didn’t use the sugar.
But I must say that they are soft and delicious. I will definitely be making these again.
Thanks!
Had a bag of spelt flour with no purpose and finding this recipe was a blessing in disguise :) I made 24 mini muffins, my changes to the recipe – used coconut milk, only 3 tbsp sugar, used plain white vinegar and added walnuts and chocolate chips instead of bluebs. Loved it, muffins are super moist and fluffy – hard to believe they are eggless :)
So glad they were a hit, thanks for sharing your tweaks!
Hi. I’m about to make this recipe. I just realized I’m missing sugar. Could I substitute with maple syrup? Will it be sweet enough? We like our muffins sweet
Hi there, Swapping a dry sweetener for a wet one can be tricky in baked goods as it throws of the wet to dry ratio, so I’m not positive on how it would turn out. If you try anything, I’d love to hear how it goes!
Sorry to say I am disappointed these muffins did not rise at all. All of my ingredients are very fresh and I followed the recipe to a T. I have never had one of your recipes not turn out before, everything is always perfect. Any idea what could have gone wrong?
Hey Yvette, Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. These muffins should rise quite a bit…could you baking powder or baking soda be expired?
I will 100% make these again! I made them in a 9″x13″ baking dish and had to add about 15 minutes to the bake time. Cut them up into nice little squares. Absolutely delicious.
That’s such a good idea to make it in a 9×13 dish! I’ll try that soon. :)
I made them gluten-free by subbing the 2 cups of white spelt flour for 1 cup brown rice flour + 1 cup almond meal flour. I also skipped the sugar. Baked them for 34 minutes and they were perfect!!! Plenty sweet! Thank you Angela for another great recipe!
I love all your muffin recipes! Honestly, these blueberry ones are truly blissful — and better than any non-vegan muffins I’ve ever had. They are fluffy and full of flavor. Yum.
I wish I could leave a great review but I won’t be using this recipe again. The muffins came out super gummy, I believe from the banana mash??
Hello Angela,
Thank you for this recipe which i’ve made a few times and they are delicious. What is your trick to stop the melted coconut oil from solidifying once mixed with the milk and frozen berries please?
The latest batch had clumps of coconut oil throughout (in the oven now so hope it works :)