These banana & teff flour muffins (Doves Farm) can be stored in a tin, to add to packed lunches. Teff flour (from the world’s smallest grain that could be used to sustainably feed starving people) is lovely in muffins, brown sugar. Bananas are natural egg-replacers, just add baking powder, oil and vanilla. Pour batter into If You Care muffin liners (sold in cardboard packaging).
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets.
Look for sea-freighted bananas (farm shop ones won’t be wrapped in plastic, unlike supermarkets that wrap them to keep away from the Fair Trade plastic-wrapped ones – at markets, you can find loose organic Fair trade banana! Waste banana products are made into writing paper, banana leaf coffins and banana leather. Use the inside banana peel to polish your shoes, and the mashed flesh as a face mask!
Store bananas in a cool place (not the fridge of they will go black). If freezing bananas to thicken smoothies, slice them first and freeze on a tray, then keep in a silicone freezer bag for up to 3 months. You can use frozen bananas to make banana ice-cream.
Benefits of Bananas
Bananas are (not local) berries but are portable and easy to eat and due to potassium, make great workout snacks. They are also good to thicken smoothies and popular in many recipes from banana bread to banoffee pie.
Due to tryptophan (an amino acid that produces serotonin) they are good for depression and insomnia (try eating half a banana before bed, as a ‘sleeping pill’. Use leftover bananas to make this Banoffee Pie (Top with Cinnamon).
Are Muffins Junk Food?
Muffins are often thought of as junk food. But if made right, they are pretty healthy, and once mastered, a few homemade muffin recipes will soon become part of your weekly cooking repertoire. These also make nice lunchbox snacks for the office.
When asked in a survey why French women remain so slim, they replied that they would never dream of eating the gigantic giant muffins that are are sold these days in most coffee shops. A typical one has around 740 calories, around half of the average woman’s daily recommended calories!
