I've heard so much chat about how no-one reads blogs anymore and how the only type of content worth posting online in this age of every-dwindling attention spans are short snappy videos. I've also read all the 'rules' about how often I should be posting new content and what it should and shouldn't look like. It's sometimes hard not to take notice of this, but most of the time that's exactly what I do when it comes to The Honest Project. Whatever about social media, where comparisons are rife and where the platform decides what it allows people to see, blogs can be a much more authentic and honest place. There's no algorithms and blog posts don't seem to shout for attention in the same ways as social media posts do. If you're reading a blog post, you've made a conscious decision to be there. I don't know about you, but on social media, I often find myself knee deep in content I have zero interest in and wondering how I fell down yet another rabbit hole. I've been thinking about this a lot lately and while I can go back and forth about the content I blog about, I have to write about what I enjoy and hope the people who choose to read it, enjoy it too. You also have to keep reminding yourself that if they don't, that's O.K.
This morning, I saw a quote on Instastories that made me have a mini light bulb moment. Now that I sit down to write this blog post, I can't quite remember the exact quote, but the jist of it is that the only person you should try to be better than is yourself and that you should quit comparing yourself to and competing with other people. I need to find the proper quote, write it on a post-it and keep reminding myself of this. Instead of looking at what other people are doing, how nice would it be to stop doing that and instead just work on doing what we are already doing better.
With that in mind, I decided to devote some time today to a new blog recipe. I've been making muffins for a long time now. I started out with over-complicated recipes that were long on ingredients, making me short on patience. Like so much else in life, often the simplest things are the best and when I realised that mantra can also apply to muffin making, it became a much more enjoyable endeavour. I've narrowed down my key ingredients to oats, bananas, eggs, maple syrup and baking soda. I add sea salt and cinnamon for flavour. After that you can leave it as a plain banana muffin or you can add little extras. For today's recipe, I added blueberries. They give the muffins a great big juicy flavour burst when you bite into them. If blueberries aren't your thing, add another berry or chocolate chips for something extra indulgent.
These muffins will keep a couple of days in an airtight container, but I think they are best served straight from the oven just allowing them to cool a little. Keep scrolling for my Blueberry and Banana Muffin recipe, to be enjoyed first thing in the morning or as an afternoon snack xx
Blueberry & Banana Muffins
Makes 12
Ingredients
2 cups oats
3 ripe banananas
2 large eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
125g blueberries
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 / Gas mark 4. Place all the ingredients, save for the blueberries in a food processor or blender and blend until the ingredients have combined into a wet batter*.
Line a 12 muffin cups with individual muffin liners and pour the batter into each muffin cup, filling each about three quarters of the way up. Place three to four blueberries into each muffin and then fill the muffin liners almost to the top with the remaining batter. Sprinkle some oat flakes on top and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. When the muffins are ready, they should be golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin should come out clean.
Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Notes:
*If you don't have a food processor or blender, start by mashing the bananas. Beat the eggs and add them to the bananas and along with the maple syrup and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. I suggest using oat flour instead of oat flakes. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until they are well combined.
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