Banana Oat Energy Balls @flahavans #kidslunch

Lunchbox-friendly and no nuts? Yes please 🍌🙌🍫
These Banana Oat Energy Balls are the perfect little grab-and-go snack for busy days. #FlahavansIrishOats

Serves 15

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (170g) Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets
1 Fyffes banana
12 dates
3 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips
Some boiling water to loosen if necessary

METHOD:
Mix all ingredients together (except the chocolate chips) in a blender.

Remove from the blender and mix in the chocolate chips.

Shape into balls.

Drizzle some chocolate on top or roll in oats and/or cinnamon sugar.

Let the balls firm up in the fridge, and they’ll get less sticky.

You can freeze these and put them in the lunchbox in the morning. They’ll be defrosted by the time the kids eat their lunch!

Rachel’s Banana Butterscotch Pudding @kerrygoldusa

ban butterscotch pudding 15816

I absolutely adore this pudding from Bill’s book, Simply Bill. He made this when I appeared with him on Great Food Live, and as soon as I tasted it I was hooked. I have adapted the recipe slightly to fit the pie dish that I have. To make this for 12 people, double this recipe and cook in a 10-inch square gratin dish for 55 minutes.

Ingredients:

FOR THE PUDDING:

1 cup (4 oz) all-purpose flour

3 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup (4 oz) superfine sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 banana, mashed

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) Kerrygold Butter, melted

FOR THE TOPPING:

1/2 cup (4 oz) light brown sugar

2 tbsp corn syrup

2/3 cup boiling water

Softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Directions:

TO SERVE:

Preheat the oven 350°F (180°C). Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar. Mix together the beaten egg, mashed banana, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Pour this wet dough into a 9-inch pie dish and place the dish on a baking sheet.

To make the topping, put the brown sugar, corn syrup and boiling water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then drizzle over the pudding. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until it feels slightly firm in the center. Serve with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. If you’re not going to serve the pudding immediately, keep it somewhere warm until you are ready—it sits quite happily.

Apricot Jam Breakfast Muffins with banana and honey @RTEfood #foodaware

apricot jam breakfast muffins

15m15 minutes ago

These Apricot Jam Breakfast Muffins can be prepared the night before and cooked to perfection in the morning –

Ingredients

  • 2 large free-range eggs
  • 150ml pot of natural low-fat yoghurt
  • 50ml rapeseed oil
  • 2 tblsp no added sugar apricot jam
  • 1 ripe banana, mashed
  • 4 tblsp clear honey
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 200g of wholemeal flour
  • 50g of porridge oats, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tblsp mixed seeds
  • extra apricot jam
  • a handful of flaked almonds, for sprinkling

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 12 large muffin cases.
  2. In a mixing jug, combine the eggs, yoghurt, rapeseed oil, Apricot Jam, banana, honey and almond extract.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the wholemeal flour, oats, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and mixed seeds.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine until you have a smooth batter. Don’t over mix as this will make your muffins tough.
  5. Divide the mix between the muffin cases and place about half a teaspoon of Apricot Jam on the top of each of the muffins. Sprinkle with the extra porridge oats and the flaked almonds.
  6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden. Check that they’re cooked by inserting a skewer into the middle of one of the muffins. They’re done if it comes away clean.
  7. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. These will keep for 3 days in a sealed container but they taste best on the day of baking.

Notes

Recipe courtesy of Folláin

Recipe: Quick Vegan Vanilla Shake @ClevelandClinic

A dreamy-creamy, delicious way to fuel your day

Enjoy protein and fiber packaged in a nutritious, cool and creamy shake with this vegan recipe from wellness chef Jim Perko.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened
  • 1 whole banana (8 to 10 inches long), peeled, frozen
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons of almond butter, unsweetened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients into a blender.
  2. Process until well-blended.
  3. Serve immediately.

Chef’s note: Create your own version by adding soy milk to make it creamier and other nut butters to explore different flavors.

Ingredient health benefits

  • Almonds: Packed with perks, almonds are rich in calcium and other nutrients that support your bones, like magnesium and vitamin K. Natural compounds called flavonoids and vitamin E are antioxidants that promote healthy skin and a happy heart. These antioxidants also fight free radicals and oxidative stress, which can damage your cells and lead to disease. And heart-healthy unsaturated fats help your body absorb certain vitamins in your food (like vitamin E) and help lower your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. As a dairy alternative, almond milk is still high in vitamin E, and as a spread, almond butter has more unsaturated fats than peanut butter, plus a little more calcium.
  • Banana: There are so many ap-peel-ing reasons to add these tropical fruits to any smoothie or shake! Bananas are a good source of fiber, and unripe bananas are double as prebiotics, meaning they nurture good gut bacteria that help to keep your digestive tract healthy. Potassium and magnesium are essential minerals for regulating your blood pressure and other vital systems, like nerves and muscles. But that’s not all bananas are good for: Even your immune system and metabolism can benefit from the vitamin C and vitamin B6.

Nutrition information (per serving)

Makes 2 servings

Calories: 160
Saturated fat: 0.5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Fiber: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 19 g
Protein: 4 g