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)
Just made these with regular spelt flour and they were phenomenal. The only change I made were to use regular spelt flour (they were not dense at all!). Thanks for the recipe!
These are amazing! So light and delicious! I was out of maple syrup so I substituted agave and I didn’t have any blueberries so I used frozen strawberries. They turned out great and my kids loved them!
Can I use oat flour instead?
These muffins ARE great. I just made a batch.
Hi! These are AMAZING! I just made them yesterday and they are teenager approved! Yay! Do you think they freeze well? I wanted to make some easy things to take out of the freezer for snacking on while we get adjusted with our newborn the first couple months. :) Thank you!
Holy gluten Angela! :-) I made it gluten free with teff flour. Just needed a little longer baking time…really good recipe…thanks!
Just made these! they are amazing :) thank you for the fab recipe xx
I just made these muffins this afternoon for my girls and they were a big hit. We made a few substitutions but they still were very yummy! I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour instead of spelt and coconut milk instead of almond. We also traded in the blueberries for semi sweet chocolate chips. It worked out okay. :) Thanks for all the great recipes!!
The most wonderful Blueberry-muffins, they were gone very quickly. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
This recipe looks great, and i’ve just picked lots of blueberries sitting fresh in my fridge! Is it possible to make the muffins without the apple cider vinegar, or substitute something else instead? Thank you in advance!
These turned out SO well – probably the best muffins I’ve ever made. Great recipe!
Yumm! These were so good, I made them for breakfast this morning and it was my first time using coconut oil in baking. Definitely going to making more for breakfast on the go! Thanks!
Blissfully Divine!
Hi,
Can I use brown rice flour or Pamela’s gluten free instead of the spelt? Just wandering. I have the brown rice now and could make these. Would have to buy spelt. Love your food blog. Thanks! Mary
Made these on the weekend and they turned out great. Used regular spelt flour instead of light (having a hard time finding light spelt flour) and the muffins are not too dense and very tasty.
I just made these and used 1 cup of oat, 3/4 cup of sorghum, 1/4 + a little more of jules nearly normal flour, to off set the GF flours I used heaping measurements for the baking powder and baking soda. I left out the walnuts, and used frozen blueberries. They turned out awesome.
I made them but mine was little soggy. I don’t know why but it was not good. I love your recipes though. Thanks.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! All the best over the next few months…lots of exciting times ahead! I’ve got two littles, so I know what you’re in for! Made these muffins this morning and…LOVE! So tasty! The only thing different I did was did half blueberries and half raspberries. Will absolutely make them again. Thanks so much for the recipe and all your recipes! One more thing…I LOVE your cookbook. I use it everyday and that’s no joke!!
These turned out great! They were surprisingly fluffy and tasted amazing :) I was worried about them becoming dense little brick muffins since I used whole spelt flour. This was my first time baking with spelt flour and it was a hit! I will say that despite keeping the berries frozen up to the very last second, they still bled a bit, though I could care less. I’ll be eating them all very soon! Thanks :)
These are so good! I just made them and they turned out great. I ran out of bananas and had to sub in 1/4 cup of applesauce for the remaining amount and they tasted really good.