I went on the hunt for a healthy blueberry muffin recipe, that was deliciously fruity and easy to make.

This healthy version is a real find – so easy, that my 12-year old made them in minutes - that’s his creation, in the pix below.

The muffins contain banana as well as blueberries, for another helping of fruit. What’s more, cooked blueberries have a much richer, sweeter flavour than the raw fruit. Plus they only contain healthy fats, not the nasties you'll find in most shop-bought muffins, which often rely heavily on sugar, modified starch fillers and hydrogenated fats, making them a high-calorie, low-nutrition choice.

Stick to home-made muffins, they're delicious and much better for you.

Blueberries are a fantastic fruit. They’re packed with vitamins and antioxidants, in fact one serving of blueberries contains as many valuable antioxidants as five servings of apples, carrots or broccoli. They’re an excellent fruit to include in the your Five a Day portions of fruit and veg a day.

HEALTHY HOME-MADE BLUEBERRY MUFFIN RECIPE

Makes 14. Preheat oven to 375F/190C/gas 5. Sift together 275g (2 ½ cups) flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground cinnamon. Cut 2 ripe bananas into chunks, and puree in a blender. Add 2 eggs, 130g (3/4) cup soft brown sugar, 90g (1/3 cup) softened butter and 1 tsp vanilla extract and blend again. Pour this mixture into the flour mix, and stir well to combine. Gently fold through 1 punnet washed blueberries. Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes until risen and golden brown. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then put on a wire rack to finish cooling.

The muffins keep well for 3-4 days in an airtight container. And, of course, they're the ideal size for lunch boxes for kids.

Pancake

Serve these pancakes with butter and syrup.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred or sifted before measuring 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups milk 2 tablespoons melted butter

Preparation:Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of milk; add to flour mixture, stirring only until smooth. Blend in melted butter. If the batter seems

too thick to pour, add a little more milk. Cook on a hot, greased griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, a little dry around the edges, and lightly browned on the bottom; turn and brown the other side. Recipe for pancakes serves 4.

Cornmeal pancake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cornmeal 1 1/2 cups cold water 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 2 cups sifted all purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg, beaten 2 tablespoons soft butter

Preparation:Put cornmeal and cold water in a saucepan; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and continue to boil gently for 5 minutes. Turn into bowl; stir buttermilk into cornmeal mixture. Sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to cornmeal mixture. Stir in beaten egg and butter. Cook pancakes on lightly greased griddle.Makes about 24 pancakes.

Tuna sandwich

A tasty tuna sandwich spread. More sandwich recipes below.

Ingredients:

1 can (approximately 7 ounces) tuna, drained 3 tablespoons teaspoons mayonnaise 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery dash of Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons chili sauce 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 small cucumber, optional sliced bread or toast

Preparation:Mix tuna with mayonnaise, celery, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, lemon juice, adding a little more mayonnaise if not moist enough. Peel and thinly slice cucumber. Spread tuna mixture on toast or bread slice, top with thinly sliced cucumber and top with another slice of bread or toast.Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Lightly spread mayonnaise on two slices of bread, or roll, place over bread one piece of lettuce (or spinach) and add the tuna mixture and slice in half

Breakfast Omelet for OneThis Omelet is so easy to make and tastes so very yummy! The filling is as good as your imagination, try different combinations. My favorite is with Mozzarella cheese. I often add the cheese to the omelette in the last minute of cooking.

2 tablespoons flour1/4 cup milk3 tablespoons sour cream2 eggssalt and pepper

Optional Fillings

Scrambled EggsBreakfast eggs that come out perfectly. I like to stir fry some red peppers and mushrooms to have on the side. And then add some wholewheat toast.. Mmmm.. makes a very tasty scrambled egg breakfast.

6 large eggs1/3 cup milk or half-and-half or water1/4 cup teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon pepper1 tablespoon butter or margarine

4 servings15 minutes 5 mins prep

1. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper thoroughly with fork or wire whisk until well mixed.2. Heat butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat just until butter begins to sizzle.3. Pour egg mixture into skillet.4. As mixture begins to set at bottom and side, gently lift cooked portions with metal spatula so that thin, uncooked portion can flow to bottom.5. Avoid constant stirring.6. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until eggs are thickened throughout but still moist.

mozzarella cheese salsamushroomsstir fry mixed pepperstomatoessausagebaconshrimp

1 serving15 minutes 10 mins prep

1. Whip the milk and flour together. 2. Add sour cream or whipped cottage cheese. 3. Add eggs and whisk until well blended. 4. Keep in fridge until ready to cook.

5. Heat non stick skillet over medium heat (5-6 on electric stove). 6. Spray skillet with lite Olive oil or other veggie spray. 7. Pour in egg mixture. You do not have to raise the egg mixture to let the uncooked run under, it

will cook perfectly just by leaving it to cook. 8. Cover with lid and cook 5 minutes (you do not have to flip it) or until it has risen and is firm on

top. 9. Meanwhile have your filling ready and warm. 10. Place omelette on a warmed plate put filling on it, flip half over and enjoy or place filling on half

the omellete in the pan, flip half over and slide onto a warmed plate.

Breakfast PancakesEasy pancakes made from scratch. You can make interesting shapes for the kids, top with fruit fillings, whipped cream, or just pancake syrup and butter.

1 Cup all-purpose flour2 Tbs. granulated sugar1-1/2 Tsp. baking powder1/2 Tsp. baking soda1/2 Tsp. salt1 Large egg1 Cup buttermilk1 Tsp. vanilla2 Tbsp. butter, melted2 Tsp. vegetable oil

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in mixing bowl; set aside. Whisk egg, buttermilk and vanilla together in small bowl. Add buttermilk mixture and butter to flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Brush griddle lightly with oil and heat.Spoon 1/3-cup batter onto hot griddle for each pancake. When the pancake bubbles, flip it over.Cook the other side until lightly browned.

Serve hot. Serves 4

Kids love to bake cookies. Young kids can practice by measuring out ingredients and stirring. Of course, the best part of baking cookies is eating them! Here are some easy cookie recipes for you to enjoy. If you have your own favorite cookie recipe to share, scroll down to the bottom of the page and share your recipe. You can also make comments about other people's cookie recipes.

Refrigerator Cookies

1 1/2 sticks (185 grams) butter, softened1 cup soft brown sugar, firmly packed1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 egg2 1/4 cup self-raising flour

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, beat until combined.

Sift in 3/4 of the flour to the butter mix. Mix in well. You may want to use your hands at this stage as it can be hard to mix with a spoon. The mix should form a soft dough. If it is too sticky add a little of the remaining flour. Continue to add flour to the mix, mixing/kneading as you go, to get it to a soft dough.

Form into a log, wrap in baking paper or plastic wrap and place in the fridge until firm for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F (180C) degrees line a cookie sheet with baking paper. Once the dough is firm, slice about 1/4 inch thick.Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown (for a crunchy cookie), or 7 minutes for a softer cookie.

For variations on the above refrigerator cookie recipe try these ideas:

Swirly Cookies - take about 1/3 of the butter mix and place into a separate bowl. Mix through sprinkles or food coloring of your choice into each butter mix. Continue with the recipe as normal though you will need to divide the flour into thirds. (3/4 cup of flour for the 1/3 butter mix, and 1 1/2 cup of flour for the 2/3 butter mix). Once each bowl is made into a soft dough, roll/press out the larger quantity of dough to about1/2 cm thick. Do the same with the smaller quantity of dough. You can do this on top of the larger piece of dough. Roll up the dough together and refrigerate until firm.Then slice and bake.

Chocolate Chip Cookies - mix in chocolate chips and add to butter mixture. Continue on with the recipe as stated.

Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies - mix in 2 teaspoons of hot chocolate mix and brown sprinkles

You can add any kind of nuts, candies, dried fruit, or spices for variety.

Gourmet Design Cookies For Delivery

Sarah's Honey Biscuits*

*Australians call cookies "biscuits"

1 1/2 cups sugar1 cup of flour5 teaspoons of butter3 teaspoons of honey1 teaspoon of canola oil for greasing

Preheat oven to 360F degrees (180C degrees). Mix all ingredients in a bowl until slightly stiff.

Put the dough on a chopping board and flatten it with your hands. Use your hand to pull off pieces of dough and roll into small balls.

Grease oven tray. Place balls of dough on the tray then place it in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly brown. Remove the oven and let cool. Wait until balls harden then serve.

This recipe was created by Sarah from Australia.

Patty Cake Cookies

2 cups self-raising flour2/3 cup sugar1/2 cup vegetable oil3 eggs3 tablespoons milk1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1 bar dark chocolate for melting

Preheat oven to 350F degrees (180C). Line cookie sheet with baking paper.

Sift flour and sugar into large mixing bowl. Add oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Spoon mixture onto baking paper to make patty cakes 2" in diameter. Bake in hot oven for 15 minutes until tops of patty cakes are golden.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

Makes about one dozen.

Melt chocolate in microwave or stir over low heat in a saucepan. Spread melted chocolate over top of patty cakes.

Enjoy these soft and fluffy patty cakes.

Surprise Cookies

1 packet refrigerated sugar cookie dough (store bought)1 bag of "bite sized" candies (Milky Way, Snickers, etc.)crystallized sugar sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Slice cookie dough and put a piece of the bite sized candy in the middle of each piece of dough.Then fold over each corner of the dough to the center over the candy. Shake sprinkles on top of each cookie.

Place on a baking sheet and then bake for 12 minutes, or until the candy is melted completely. When cooled, eat up! This recipe was created by Sydney, age 16, of the United States.

Snickerdoodles

1 cup shortening1 1/2 cups sugar2 eggs2 3/4 cups sifted flour2 teaspoons cream of tartar1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon sugar2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400F degrees (180C degrees). In a mixing bowl, mix together shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly. In a separate bowl mix together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Stir into shortening mixture. Shape dough into 1" balls. Roll in mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. This recipe was submitted by C. Clark, age 12, of the United States.

Super Easy Sugar Cookies

1/3 cup butter1/3 cup shortening2 cups flour1 egg

1/2 cup sugar1 tablespoon milk1 teaspoon baking powderpinch of salt1 teaspoon vanillacandy sprinkles or red colored sugarraspberry or strawberry jam