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)
OMG these muffins are amazing!! I made them yesterday and my husband and I LOVED them! They will definitely be my go-to blueberry muffins from now on. Thanks for your delicious recipes!
Made these yesterday and they turned out delicious — very moist and light. I subbed the maple syrup for agave (but used less than the recipe called for) because mid-way through making these, I realized I was all out of maple syrup — oops! But they still turned out amazing! Thank you!
These taste wonderful! I just took the first batch out of the oven. I followed your recipe exactly and the texture is really nice, the flavor is great, and they turned out very light (not dense). Thanks for this recipe!
Just made these! The texture is great (I used 1/2 whole grain spelt, 1/2 gluten free flour blend). They are a little too sweet for me though (used cane sugar and pure maple syrup) – next time I will 1/2 the sweeteners!
First time I’ve had vegan muffins turn out so nicely :-)
Such great ingredients on this list, Angela! I loooove coconut sugar and spelt. Spelt flour is surprisingly very mild and easy to work with too in my opinion.
I made these on Thursday evening with my 2 year-old daughter and they are almost gone!! This may be the best blueberry muffin recipe I’ve made. They are excellent!! I’m already contemplating when I’ll make another batch! Thanks for awesome healthy recipes!!
I haven’t laughed so hard at one of your posts in such a long time! You are absolutely hilarious.
Can’t wait for your book!!
<3
You have to check out unroll.me! It will take care of all the email junk! You can use it to unsubscribe quickly from any lists you aren’t reading the emails from, and you can also choose to “roll them up” so they all go into one email per day, where you can then decide to read them, ignore or save them to read later. Totally unclutters your email inbox! The muffins look yummy! Wish I could eat spelt.
thanks, I will check it out!
I love how you incorporate such wonderful ingredients! I am so excited to venture out and try something new – spelt!
Everyone in my family loved these muffins – everytime I find a recipe that my 3 kids and husband all like, it’s a mini celebration. I made these gluten/grain free by substituting 1 cup of qunioa flour with 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour and 1/2 cup of potato flour for the spelt flour.
Hi Angela,
I just made this muffins, and they are absolutely delicious exactly as they are. I visit a lot of vegan food blogs and your recipes are truly the most consistent in terms of overwhelming deliciousness. You are my favorite thing on the entire internet, and I can’t wait for your book!!
Thank you!!!
Lauren
I made a batch this past weekend and they were a HUGE hit with my boyfriend (non veg). We didn’t have coconut sugar, or even white sugar – just light brown sugar. I took a chance and used the light brown sugar, and they still came out great. Can’t wait to try them with coconut sugar next time :) I usually don’t feel very satisfied after eating a muffin for breakfast, but after two of these with a pat of earth balance, I was full but not sluggish. I am a spelt flour convert! Thanks for another great recipe!
Hey Jessica, That is so great to hear! Thanks for your feedback. And it’s great to know that brown sugar works in a pinch!
Just bit into one of these babies and it was DELISH! Fluffy, lightly sweet, not unbearably bananaish, good crunch from the walnuts and finished with the juicy bites of blueberries! Rated 5 stars from all of us out here at Dragonfly Farms! (5 out of 5)
I just saw these on Twitter – can’t wait to make :)
The Macadame. xx
creamstop.com
I made these muffins yesterday. They are delicious, texture is very soft and fluffy almost cake like.
Love the muffins! I made them on Saturday and the whole family ate ’em up. Even my Mother who is the strongest critic of vegan food. I love how light and tasty they were. Thank you for the awesome recipe! I can’t wait for my copy of your cookbook to come in!
Made them Sunday, yum! Thank you for all the work you do, testing recipes and sharing them with the universe. Looking forward to the cookbook.
I just made a batch of these this morning. I used Bob’s Red Mill WW Pastry Flour (1 and 3/4 cups) and 1/4 cup of Bob’s coconut flour. I also added in about 1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut. Other than those substitutions I didn’t make any other changes. At first I was worried they wouldn’t be very sweet and upon eating them warm from the oven I didn’t find them to be sweet enough. However once fully cooled they we’re perfect. I shared them with adolescent boys and some of my less than health conscious co-workers. Everyone loved them! They were all pleasantly surprised when informed about the healthy, clean ingredients. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these on the weekend. Turned out nicely considering I used whole spelt flour. I would make them again, but with an adjustment. They were really quite greasy (strange, given it was only 1/4 cup coconut oil). I use paper liners, and the liners were greasy. I’ll try using just 2 T oil and see how that works. :)
These are delicious! Great recipe, thanks Angela. I love the banana and blueberry combo. I make them with GF flour (Angelique brand).
Just an update, I have been making these at least once a week, if not twice, since you posted this recipe! I sometimes sub half a cup of mini chocolate chips (enjoy life brand) for the blueberries for a special treat.