Spinach and Cornmeal Breakfast Muffins

These spinach and cornmeal breakfast muffins are a great way to have a healthy breakfast on the go. You can make them ahead of time and freeze them, then just grab one each morning for a filling, veg-filled way to start your day.

This recipe is adapted from one supplied by Organix as part of their No Junk Journey. I’ve teamed up with them to promote a love of healthy food, fruit and vegetables and cooking through a series of blog posts over 2016.

Breakfast muffins are such a fun treat for a weekend breakfast, plus a batch lasts through the week. You can endlessly customise the flavours and try different fruit and veg. Another way to turn breakfast on it’s head is with these breakfast Weetabix muffins from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary!

Spinach and Cornmeal Breakfast Muffins (Organix No Junk Journey)

 

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These spinach and cornmeal breakfast muffins are a great way to have a healthy breakfast on the go. You can make them ahead of time and freeze them, then just grab one each morning for a filling, veg-filled way to start your day. Delicious any time of day!

Author: Kate @ Veggie Desserts

Ingredients

• 250ml (1 cup) whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 2 spring onions
• 1 handful sweetcorn (fresh or frozen)
• 200g (1¾ cup) plain, all-purpose, flour
• 150g (3/4 cup) polenta or cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)
• pinch salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160C/320F and lightly grease the cups of a muffin tray.
2. Whisk together the milk, eggs and oil.
3. Finely chop the spinach, tomatoes and spring onions. Add them, along with the corn, to the bowl and stir in well.
4. In another bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, turmeric, salt and pepper.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently stir to combine.
6. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden and set.
7. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing carefully to a wire rack.

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Organix No Junk Journey

This month, I’m working with Organix to find ways for parents and little ones to grow a love of good food. Often, people turn to unhealthy food when they’re short on time, but actually, healthy food can be just as fast to prepare and is less likely to leave you reaching for more food as you crash from unhealthy choices. You can make a healthy kale pasta in ten minutes, or add carrots to porridge to get some veg first thing in the morning.

I also definitely believe that organic food is better for us, and the environment. By farming organically, farmers reduce pollution and greenhouse gases released from food production, through restricting the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides. For us, surely it’s best if we don’t consume too many pesticides!

So we try to eat organic wherever possible. This is often made easier through a veg box scheme, so local, seasonal organic vegetables come straight to our door. I try to grow our own organic vegetables but I haven’t had much success. The kids love planting vegetables every year, but so far they have mostly succumbed to slugs and snails. Maybe this year will be our year for a little harvest!

Some fruits and vegetables are worse than others for containing harmful pesticide residue. If you only choose a few organic items, these are the best ones to make the switch with: oranges, lemons/limes, pears, grapes, apples, pre-packed salads, bananas, spring greens, kale, herbs, spinach and cucumber.

Another way that I try to instil a love of good, healthy food in my children is to cook with them, often! My daughter, Polly, loved making these cornmeal breakfast muffins – almost as much as she loved eating them. We often spend time together in the kitchen. From chopping and stirring elaborate meals together, to simply whipping up some pancake batter. Even if we’re short on time, my kids enjoy buttering their own bread or chopping up bananas with a blunt knife. We also make sure that every meal has a varied selection of fresh, raw vegetables on the table – often with some hummus to dip.

One of my kids’ favourite ‘treats’ is apple slices with peanut butter spread on them. So healthy, and they love it. If they want something more decadent, like chocolate, I make ‘banana boats’: bananas sliced lengthways, studded with a few shards of chocolate. That way, they’re too full to want more chocolate and they’ve only had a little bit rather than a whole bar or packet.

I often take the kids to the shops as well. In the greengrocer we talk about the names of the different vegetables and we discuss how they grow. They learn something and engaging with them stops them from running off (usually!).

Let me know about your family’s food and healthy eating, using #NoJunkJourney across social media.

Disclosure: Organix commissioned this series of posts as part of their No Junk Journey campaign. All opinions are my own.