I am always trying to find new recipes to add to the rotation and make school lunches more exciting and enticing. I had a whole bunch of fresh blueberries so I made these delicious scones and used cookie cutters to create a star and circle shape so they would be a little more fun when Charlotte opened her lunch box. The star shape was definitely the favourite, they gobbled them up. Bonus they only have a little sugar in each so the kids won't be jumping off the walls. 

this recipe is adapted from Ricardocuisine.com

Ingredients 

2 3/4 cups (412 g) organic unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (105 g) organic sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup (170 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 1/8 cups (310 ml) buttermilk *see note

2 cups (300 ml) fresh blueberries **see note

Preparation 

1. With the rack in the highest position, preheat the oven to 425°F (210°C). Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the butter forms pea-sized pieces. Add 1 cup (250 ml) of the buttermilk, and pulse until just blended.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 16-inch (45 cm) square. Arrange the blueberries over the dough. Roll the dough into a long cylinder and press it flat to a thickness of 1 1/4 inches. Use a star cookie cutter to cut out shapes and place on the prepared sheets, or freeze at this point. Repeat until all dough is used up.
4. Brush the scones with the remaining 1/8 cup buttermilk. 
5. Bake one sheet at a time for 15 minutes or until the scones are golden brown. (Bake frozen scones for about 23 minutes.) Let cool.

Note:

*I never have buttermilk on hand so when any recipe ever calls for buttermilk I always just use organic whole milk and add a little apple cider vinegar to it. This works just as well as buttermilk. 

**Use fresh blueberries, frozen will result in purple dough (unless thats what you are going for. Come to think of it, would be fun for the kids) 

Let me know in the comments if you make these or if you have any suggestions for great recipes I should try for my kiddos. 

I have made these muffins twice now and I am defrosting frozen bananas while I write this for the next batch. These hands down are my favourite banana muffin to date. They have quality ingredients, no refined sugar, healthy oils and best of all spinach hidden inside these incredibly delicious muffins.

The original recipe is 'Popeye's Banana Bread' from 'It All Begins With Food' by the founder of Love Child Organics, Leah Garrad-Cole. I changed it a bit because I didn't have all the ingredients and I wanted to make them into little muffins for breakfast, lunches and snacks. 

Heres the recipe... Let me know if you make them!

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups all purpose organic flour

2 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

3 large ripe organic bananas

2 organic free range eggs

1/2 good quality maple syrup

1 tsp chia seeds

2 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1 packed cup chopped baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup chocolate chips

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line muffins tin with reusable silicone muffin cups or grease with olive oil and dust it with flour. 

Place the flour, flax seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine.

In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the bananas, eggs, honey, olive oil, chia, and vanilla until smooth.

Add the spinach and pulse gently until it is in very small pieces but not completely blended in. You don’t want to turn the mixture green by blending it too much.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, mix until just combined, and then stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop evenly into each muffin cup (I like using an ice cream scoop) and bake until golden. A toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin should come out clean, and the top should be dark golden.

Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan and cooling on a wire rack. 

To store, wrap in parchment paper or sealed glass container. This will keep well for a few days on the counter, or you can wrap and freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!