Redmond - Wholesome

Blueberries are a super fruit to cook and bake with because they keep so well in the freezer and have a balanced amount of water in them, which means you're not going to end up with a sticky mess. A good alternative to blueberries are raspberries. If you'd like to use strawberries, make sure you chop them up into small pieces (about the same size as a blueberry). You can also replace the blueberries with two bananas, sliced or chopped into similar small pieces.

makes 12 muffins

260g plain flour 50g caster sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt 150ml milk 50g natural yoghurt

75ml sunflower oil 1 medium egg 150g blueberries

Method

• Preheat your fan oven to 170C. Line a cupcake tin/muffin tray with paper cases.

• Put the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir to mix them around.

• Combine the wet ingredients (milk, yoghurt, oil, egg) in a big jug and mix them together with a fork until they are combined. Pour slowly into the dry ingredients and stir until you have a thick batter.

• Add in the berries and stir one more time to make sure they are coated in the batter.

• Spoon into the muffin cases, taking care not to fill them more than three-quarters full.

• Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden on top.

• Once cooled, these muffins will keep in a sealed container for up to three days.

Lets face it, there are days when we dont have the time to take a long leisurely breakfast and I have been known to leave the house without any form of sustenance whatsoever, except, of course, my obligatory cup of tea. It can also be hard to persuade kids to eat what is good for them in the mornings and every now and again you can feel like you really dont want to do battle at breakfast time.

These breakfast bars contain all the same ingredients that you will find in a bag of muesli with the addition of a little butter to make them hold together in the oven. I make at least one batch a week and know that the kids are getting vital wholegrains, vitamins and iron, even if they do end up grabbing a bar as they run out the door for the bus.

The ingredient list is in American cup measures simply because its not so much a technical list but more an indication and you can add/subtract ingredients according to your family preferences. One cup is equivalent to about the 250ml point in a measuring jug.

makes 20 breakfast bars

1 cup rolled oats cup sunflower seeds cup hulled pumpkin seeds

cup raisins cup dried apricots cup dates, chopped

cup flaked almonds cup melted butter 1 cup runny honey

Method

• Preheat your fan oven to 190C. Grease a baking tray and dust it with flour.

• Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix loosely with a wooden spoon. Pour in the wet ingredients (melted butter and honey) and stir until all the dry mixture is coated.

• Press firmly into the baking tray. Bake until golden brown and crispy at the edges. It should take approximately 25 minutes.