Recipe: Banana Breakfast Bites

Breakfast. The most important meal of the day which we don't do justice on weekdays. We either grab something on the way to work, which is generally loaded with sugar, or don't have anything at all (slapped wrists for those people). 

This used to always be my downfall when I was younger, but over the past few years as I've developed a healthier and cleaner eating and lifestyle regime and I've embraced weekday breakfasts and making them something to get the day off to an amazing start. I'd rather get up a little bit earlier and have time for a clean and balanced breakfast rather than grabbing something on the go which won't fill me up and leave me feeling sluggish by mid-morning.

Now, we all have busy lives, so for those mornings when there just literally isn't any time, welcome Banana Breakfast Bites into your life. Super easy to make and perfect for making sure you're eating healthily on the go. Get these bad lads made so you can easily grab them on your way out the door to work this week.

I came across the recipe for these gluten and sugar free goodies on nutrition babe Madeleine Shaw's site and wondered how I could add my own twist to them. Fancy giving them a whirl? Here's how!

What you'll need:

• 1 banana
• 300g of ground almonds
• 100g of butter (I always use salted butter)
• 100 g of whole milk yogurt (I used Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt for added creaminess)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (I used Biona Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oil)

Madeleine's original recipe includes stevia and an additional banana on top, but I find these sweet enough with just one banana in the main batter and the blueberries add a lovely sharp tang.

Yoghurt makes these cakey-bars lovely and moist, and if whole-milk yoghurt isn't part of your diet then it should be. A healthy fat which contains far less sugar than low-fat and fat-free yoghurts, meaning it's MUCH better for you.

How to whip up these breakfast babes
1. Set the oven to 180°C or Gas Mark 6.
2. In a food processor, blend the ground almonds, banana, butter, eggs and yoghurt.

3. Grease a small baking tray/brownie pan with coconut oil (I popped my baking tray in the oven whilst it was heating up so the coconut oil could melt a bit and grease the tin easily).
4. Spread the banana bar mixture evenly in the tin and top with the blueberries pressing them down lightly into the mixture.

5. In the oven they go for between 15-25 minutes (depending on your oven) until the edges start to turn slightly golden and the blueberries cook down slightly.

6. Place on a cooling rack and when cooled slightly, mark into 20 small squares or 10 larger bars.

To make these bars a bit more indulgent you could add 80% dark chocolate chips, or even better, raw cacao nibs for a real edge of dark, chocolately goodness.

For those worried about the fat content, all of the fats included are healthy and essential fats which aid a healthy, active lifestyle and weight loss. Obviously don't go eating loads of full fat foods (everything in moderation, folks) but full fat dairy especially is better for you than their low-fat or fat-free counterparts which are loaded with sugar to compensate for flavour and sugar is the real nasty when it comes to gaining weight.

What do you do for healthy breakfasts on the go?