Banana, apple and almond muffins

So after a very messy experience with the Almond Banana Breakfast Bonanza with a few too many variations I put the rest of the mixture into a muffin mould and chucked it in the oven. The result got me thinking...

As I continue to make my almond milk for my breakfast I continue to find ways I can use the remaining nutritious almond meal before it goes off. I think I've found it! They keep longer than the meal on its own and they make great morning or afternoon snacks.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups of almond meal (or meal remaining from 3/4 almonds after making milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 to 1 1/2 smashed up very very ripe bananas
• 1 peeled and grated apple
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tbsp psyllium husks

Putting it together

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl
• Spoon into muffin moulds (or tray)
• Bake in moderate oven for 25 - 35 minutes (depending on your oven)
• Check they are cooked by using a cake tester or metal skewer
• Allow to cool

Result

Okay, so these little muffins are probably more nutritional than treat. The texture has echoes of firm jelly but without being weird. I guess that is what you get when you add the fibre of psyllium husks. I wouldn't go out of my way to make these for guests but they are excellent to make when I need to use up the almond meal which seems to go off within about five days. Each muffin is filled with goodness and I enjoy them.

Verdict

I won't always have a very very ripe banana on hand so no doubt this recipe will get plenty of experimentation in the future. But for now it gets my vote for quick, easy and a nutritious snack. Some people might want to add some sort of sweetener like agave or honey as they aren't particularly sweet.

What's the deal with psyllium husks?

Without going into too much into detail, psyllium husks come from the psyllium seed. It is an excellent source of soluble fibre and often used in products like Metamucil. In some gluten-free cooking it is an excellent substitute for gluten because of its gooey texture after adding water. Essentially, psyllium husks absorb moisture. In the body this means that it helps to keep bowel movements on the soft side, in cooking this means it binds a recipe together.

NOTE: With any supplement or food that adds lots of soluble fibre it is important to ensure you drink a reasonable amount of water. The reason being because it draws on your own water supply in your body. This is true of Chia seeds too which I have spoken about in my sweet gluten free slice recipe.

You can buy psyllium husks in health food stores or even the supermarket. You can buy it in husk form or powdered. You can even buy it in tablet form.