Sharing the love…Donna Hay's Pear, Yoghurt & Chia Muffins!

I love a good muffin….well, actually, my kids love a good muffin moreso than me. And, as they are all  going through that fussy toddler/infant age group, I actually just love the idea that they eat them (full stop) and I can take a deep breath knowing they are putting something relatively healthy into their little growing bodies.

So, a few weeks ago when reading through the Sunday Style magazine, I came across these delicious Donna Hay muffins …..that have a healthy twist to them!  To all they could quite easily just be a pear muffin, but to a mummy who so desperately wants her children to eat some extra goodness, these have  some LSA, chai seeds and yoghurt (rather then milk, butter,etc) very sneakily hidden into them.

Verdict- my kids loved them…..and I'm now thinking I might play around with the recipe and try substituting the pear for apple, carrot or zucchini.

Also- quite a handy little number to freeze and add to lunch boxes too!!! 

For those of you that may have missed the magazine, or don't read it, here below is the recipe. All I can say is, Donna…you have done it again! Hooray!!!

Pear, Yoghurt & Chia Muffins

2 1/4 cups self raising flour, sifted

2/3 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup LSA mix

2 tablespoons black chia seeds, plus extra for sprinkling

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup lightly flavoured extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup greek style (thick) yoghurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups grated beurre bosc (firm) pear

Preheat oven to 180 deg celcius. Prepare muffin tray with paper cases. Recipe said 12, but using these cases in photos, I made about 20. Place the flour, sugar, LSA and chia seeds in a large bowl and mix to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, oil, yoghurt, vanilla and pear. Mix until just combined. Spoon into paper cases and fill two thirds way up. Sprinkle with extra chia seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer.

Recipe source- Donna Hay, Sunday Style Magazine, May 18 2014.

Enjoy!!!

Nothing beats the Breakfast Muffin!

Im a big breakfast fan, but often fall into the old routine trap of eating the same thing every day for six months. Or worse still, I feed the kids and then a few hours later having got caught up in 'other stuff' realise I havent had anything except my habitual morning coffee. 

The children have a mix of fruit or toast or both…but some mornings even they struggle to eat a substantial breakfast (so easily distracted by thoughts of play!). Thats when its time to whip up some muffins. And when I say whip up, I do mean that- they are quick and easy to make and with some imagination you can basically add whatever you have fruit wise lying around and jazz it up with pantry staples. We usually make some form of a banana muffin (like these)- such a great way of using up fruit thats on its way out!

This is a recipe adapted from here. Ive used the mixture as a base for the muffin mix, then added in sultanas and finely chopped almonds for some extra goodness. Be careful not to add too much as you dont want a dry mix.

The mini muffins were baked at 180 deg celcius for about 12-15 minutes- keep checking them as you dont want then to overcook and dry out. I also baked some larger size muffins which took about 20 minutes. 

Best served at our house- straight off the cooling tray, outside where the kids can crumb all they like!!!, and with a cup of cold milk to wash it all down. Our batch of 24 lasted 10 minutes!!!!

No more excuses for not having a relatively healthy breakfast……..happy days……