And I’m back!

Well physically I’m back anyway.

I’m also fuh-reezing cold and suffering a major case of post vaycay blues.

Like majorly!

As in I don’t really want to do anything, unless it’s jumping on a plane and heading back to summer fun.

*hmph*

Thankfully I had pre-baked a sneaky stash of tasty little treats to have on hand, ready to help get me through my post vaycay funk.

For a good few months now I had been eyeing off  this incredible looking banana bread recipe created by the ah-mazing Teresa Cutter but for some reason or other I just never got around to making it.

I was really intrigued by this recipe because I had never used dates in baking before. I always just use them to make my addicting little energy bites, it never occurred to me to use them as a natural sweetener in baked goods.

Did you know about this? Have you been holding out on me all this time?

Seriously I had no clue?!

Anyways, my curiosity finally got the better of me, well that and I was procrastinating the vaycay packing remember so, banana bread had to be made. Although, I made them into mini muffins because hello – 8-10 mins cook time as opposed to to 50-60 mins and we all know mini = more plus they are way cuter not to mention pre-portioned ready to grab and go and oh my word you guys . . . dates as a natural sweetener in baking rocks!

PS – sorry for the major run on sentence up there . . . sometimes when I’m talking and get excited about something I forget to breathe . . . real life people, real life!

And back to the muffins . . .

These banana coconut chia muffins are so, so good!

They are light and subtly sweet with a hint of caramel from our over ripe banana and those magic little medjool dates. They also have a nice little crunch from those cheeky little chia seeds.

Seriously, these  banana coconut chia muffins are outrageously delicious!

Like in a world of their own, delicious.

And you know what makes them even better . . . you just throw everything into your blender or food processor and let it do the work for you. All you have to do once your batter is all blended (apart from try not to drink it straight up from the blender because it smells all kinds of incredible!) is stir through your chia seeds and pour into the muffin tray and bake, boomshakalocka = winning!

I know they may not look like much but these banana coconut chia muffins are in a world of their own when it comes to flavour.

They are super light, seriously moist, subtly sweet and simply melt in your mouth. Have I mentioned how much I love, love, love the texture of coconut flour?! Well I do. Love, love, love!!!!!!

These banana coconut chia muffins are the perfect little treat to add to work lunches and because they are also nut free so you can send them to school with little ones too. Everybody wins!!!!!

They are made with no refined flours or sugars, and they also happen to be low carb, grain free and Paleo Friendly.

Perfect with a piping hot cup of tea or coffee for breakfast, snack or anytime.

2 bites of purely delicious, light as air, melt in your mouth, seriously healthy, chia studded, caramel flavoured banana muffins.

FYI – These babies freeze really well so  you may want to make a double batch because somehow the first batch will magically disappear in the blink of an eye. I have no idea how that keeps happening?! 😉

Make them, eat them, love them

Banana Coconut Chia Mini Muffins
Very slightly adapted and re-written in my own words from this incredible recipe created by the amazing Teresa Cutter aka The Healthy Chef
Makes approx 30 incredibly light, caramel infused, chiatastic banana mini muffins

Ingredients – 

2 manky over ripe bananas

3 eggs

2 medjool dates, seed removed*

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon of coconut oil, melted and cooled

1 Tablespoon of warm water

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt flakes

4 Tablespoons coconut flour

1 Tablespoon of chia seeds + extra to sprinkle over the tops

Method –

1 – Pre-heat your oven to 150’C (300’F) and either line a mini muffin tray with paper cases or grease and flour old skool style then set aside.

2 – Place all ingredients except chia seeds into your food processor or blender and process until well combined.

3 – Stir through your chia seeds and still until almost combined.

4 – Spoon batter into your prepared muffin tray (I use approx 1 heaping teaspoon per mini muffin) then sprinkle a little of those extra cheeky chia seeds over each muffin.

5 – Bake for 8-10 mins until slightly golden, tops spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick has just a few crumbs attached when inserted into the centre.

6 – Allow to cool in the tray for 5-10 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy xoxo

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Question of the day –

What tips do you have for post vaycay recovery?!

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