Seriously Good Whole Wheat Banana Cranberry Muffins

Last night, I had a bunch of very ripe bananas and nothing to serve my kids for breakfast the next morning. So I went looking for a healthy yummy muffin recipe. And have I found it! Absolutely NO refined sugar or refined flour in this yummy moist delicious muffin which had the best blend of sweet, salty and sour (from the cranberries!). Oh and no dairy either! Took under an hour to whip up half a batch :)

All good! And SO GOOD!

Whole Wheat Banana Cranberry Muffin Recipe

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup grapeseed oil (or olive oil)

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/4 cup hot water

1/2 cup of frozen cranberries (frozen crans were superbly sour..if you want something not so shocking, try dried)

1. Mix together whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt. Add frozen cranberries to the mix to coat.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, honey and eggs. Add 1 cup mashed ripe bananas. I like chewing into my nanas so I left them pretty chunky.

3. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix, alternating with hot water. End with dry.

4. Mix quickly until the batter is all moist. Don't over mix or your muffins will turn out hard (at least that's what everyone says!).

 

5. Spoon into lined muffin tin. This recipe will make 12 muffins.

6. Pop into pre-heated oven. Bake at 170C for 16-18 mins.

7. Burn your lips on the hot-from-the-oven yummy wholesome muffins! 

Indulgence - Chocolate Walnut Cupcakes

This certainly looks like indulgence, doesn't it? Well, you betcha! Chocolate walnut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting with a a touch of orange peel. All I can say is YUM YUM YUM! Made these for my sister's birthday. I used the never-fail chocolate cake recipe I learnt from an American colleague of mine when I did a stint of teaching. Super easy, super delicious! Don't even need to use a mixer (for the cake that is)

American Chocolate Cake Recipe

1. Melt 6oz(170g) butter.

2. Mix in 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Leave to cool.

3. Sift 2 cups flour, 2 tsp bicarbonate soda & 2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp. of salt

4. Add 2 cups of sugar (I used 3/4 cup brown sugar to reduce the sweet)

5. Add in 2 beaten eggs and mix

6. Add 2 cups of boiling water and then butter & cocoa mixture. Stir like a crazy person :) Don't worry about the lumps, they will soon disappear. (I added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts at the end)

7. Pour into cupcake liners (makes about 20 cupcakes) or into greased cake tin

8. Bake at 170C for 18 mins (45 mins for normal cake) until firm in the centre

9. Cool them on a wire rack and FROST and decorate!

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

1. Cream 4 oz butter and 8 oz cream cheese till fluffy

2. Add 1 tsp. vanilla essence and gradually add 2 cups of sifted icing sugar (to taste and consistency)

3. Add zest of one orange, mix it in

4. FROST!

and indulge... :)

Blessed Mother's Day

What a privilege it is to have moms and for some of us to be moms ourselves!

Being the youngest in a family, I grew up with an insatiable desire to be heard, to be considered a voice in the family. The desire to be heard and do things "my way" often rubbed against "mom's way". Now having become a mother myself and experiencing first-hand the challenges and celebrations in motherhood, I have grown more in honour and respect of my mom and many many other fabulous moms out there! If you're a mom and I have had the blessing of peeking into your journey as a mom, thank you for being an inspiration to me!
Her children arise and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her.
-- Proverbs 31:28
If at first you don't succeed, do it the way your mother told you to.

-- Author Unknown

I never knew how much love my heart could hold until someone called me "mommy."
-- Author Unknown


Here's a simple craft I whipped up for the kids at cg last Friday. A pretty victorian lace handbag card for mom! Which mom doesn't need another handbag? :)

Here are the supplies you need to make this simple craft.

Coloured A4 size cardstock, folded in half, cut to resemble bag shape, narrow end on the folded edge

Paper doilies, cut in half

Craft gems for the snap button

Chenille sticks and beads

Single hole puncher

Double sided tape

Craft glue 

Labels that say happy Mother's Day, Hand-made with love for the best mom, etc (optional)

1. Use double sided tape to attach the half doily to the folded card. Be sure to align the straight edge of the doily with the folded edge of the card.

2. Punch two holes in the top of the bag. These holes are where the handle of the bag will be

3. Thread beads on a chenille stick leaving about 2 inches on either end free from beads

4. Attach the ends of the stick to the holes

5. Glue a craft gem to the doily in the front of the bag to resemble a snap for your bag.

6. Decorate with labels or drawings :)