vegan banana and chia muffins

I made these muffins recently when I had a bunch of over ripe bananas and a large bag of chia seeds waiting to be used. I googled #vegan #banana #chia and found this recipe. Normally I'm not a huge fan of gluten free muffins, but these ones were good, and the kids LOVED them! They are super easy to make, and turned out nice and moist.

I substituted ground flax for ground almonds, and rice flour instead of tapioca flour, as I didn't have any on hand.

Vegan Banana and Chia Muffins

Author: Paleo With Mrs P

Recipe type: Breakfast, Snack, Treat, Kids

Serves: 10

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 2tbsp Chia
• 4 ripe bananas (approx 650g)
• 1 cup almond butter
• 70g ground almonds
• 2 tbsp tapioca flour
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 ° c
2. In to a large mixing bowl place your bananas and mash until smooth and gloopy
3. Add in your almond butter and mix thoroughly
4. Now fold in the tapioca flour, ground almonds and baking powder and combine
5. Add in the maple syrup and mix in
6. Add in the chia seeds, mix in and allow to stand for 3-4 minutes
7. In to a non stick muffin / cup cake pan place about 1.5tbsp mixture in to each and then place in to the oven for 25 minutes until they have risen and the tops are firm
8. They might still feel a little soft, but don't worry- as they cool they will firm up a lot
9. Allow to fully cool before taking out of the muffin pan and enjoy!

from kidney stones to cute glass water bottles

A couple of months ago I ended up in the emergency room with extreme pain and 2 kidney stones. The most likely cause being dehydration. With 2 kids, breastfeeding and lack of sleep, I was not drinking enough water. It's no excuse, but it's what happened. As much as we are told how important it is to drink water, we forget, or at least I did. It's not just a fad, it's super important, not just to make our skin look better, but to maintain our health. So my recipe for today is very simple:

water

directions: pour it in a glass or cute bottle, sip often, bring it with you

optional: add lemon or cucumber slices

To help make water drinking more desirable, I searched for a cute, eco-friendly water bottle, and discovered an awesome company called bkr run by 2 women who hold the same ideals as me.

Tal Winter and Kate Cutler were two intelligent, fashionable, cultured women in love with everything glowing and glamorous—but realized they were drinking from trash: cheap, disposable, plastic water bottles. Not glamorous. Instead, they wanted to drink from something clean, clear, soft and beautiful that felt like a couture accessory and not camping equipment. A product to be loved, not tossed away—a product they believed they could design. So they quit their jobs, said yes to the adventure, and recreated their lives.

Four years later bkr has gained a dedicated following, earning its reputation as a coveted beauty essential and the solution to staying hydrated. Each season bkr releases limited edition collections inspired by runway trends in New York, London, Paris and Milan. Always BPA-free, phthalate-free, adorable and addictive. Welcome to your newest obsession.

I wanted to support this company, and make water drinking attractive for others, so I decided to sell them at our yoga studio. For every bottle sold, we will donate $2 to an awesome foundation that is located across the street from us, and who's hardworking employees practice at Luna; the Make a Wish Foundation "granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy".