Naturally sweet and bursting with blueberry freshness, banana blueberry pancakes are a weekday breakfast must in our home.

(Are you wondering how to pull off pancakes on a busy weekday morning?? Check out all the tips below!)

Banana Blueberry Pancakes

I’ve been making these pancakes for years. Blueberry waffles and pancakes have been a long-time favorite, (check out these blueberry waffles for proof of that – they’re just so good!) but when I started adding blueberries to the banana nut pancakes in my first cookbook? That combination became an immediate favorite.

Even with a house full of voracious eaters, I am baffled at how any food can possibly go bad in my household but bananas are my nemesis.

A few years ago a friend told me that when her my bananas get close to spoiling, she just tosses them into the freezer without peeling them or anything else and when they accumulate, she makes banana bread.

FYI that tip did NOT work for me, but peeling the bananas and dropping them into a freezer bag DOES work for me. You can grab however many bananas you need out of the bag and thaw them on a plate. It’s much simpler and less messy than dealing with a frozen and then thawed slimy banana peel.

Fluffy Banana Pancakes

While this is a super handy thing to keep in mind for dealing with over-ripe bananas, I am not even going to admit how many bananas often accumulate in my freezer. These easy banana pancakes are one way to avoid the banana backlog.

Fresh blueberries are my favorite to use in pancakes and waffles, but frozen will get the job done as well. One thing to note with frozen blueberries and pancakes is that the batter will sometimes be uncooked around those frozen blueberries.

To avoid these little pockets of batter I will set out frozen blueberries in a single layer on a plate before mixing up my batter. Then, by the time the batter is made and has had a few minutes to rest while the griddle gets hot, the blueberries are just slightly soft and everything cooks nicely.

Need more fluffy banana pancake ideas? Try these Read more

Protein Waffles – Easy Healthy Breakfast

Two ingredient protein waffles…2 INGREDIENTS…that’s all you need to make this high protein breakfast! We are eating protein waffles for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We practically live off of these things. A few times a month I seem to have one of those days where no matter how badly I want to make dinner (or sometimes don’t even want to think about it), it just isn’t going to happen. Or maybe we just got home from vacation or ate super heavy all week, the list goes on and on. Either way, having something in your pocket that isn’t cereal or nachos comes in quite handy. Introducing what we call, “protein waffles”. 

We eat protein waffles for dinner, but we also have them regularly for breakfast. A healthy breakfast sets the tone for my day, and I love getting a lot of protein in at breakfast. With this waffles recipe, you get 16 grams of protein in just one waffle.

Ingredients for Protein Waffles

Okay, don’t blink because you might miss it! For these protein waffles all you need is protein powder and eggs. You can use whole eggs or go with just egg whites for an even healthier waffle recipe.

What is the Best Protein Powder?

We use lots of different protein powders and have tried just about everything out. Our favorite brand of protein powder for these waffles is Just Ingredients Vanilla Bean. When you’re picking a protein powder, keep a close eye on the sugar. A lot of protein powders have loads of sugar in them and we don’t want that! Just Ingredients brand has only 2 grams of sugar per scoop.

If money is on your mind, but you still want to do your bit to help the planet, you might wonder what you can realistically afford to do. The good news is that there are plenty of green choices that don’t break the bank, and some that could actually save you money in the long run

When it comes to sustainable living, it’s important to try to use whatever you have first. Reuse, repurpose, and repair wherever possible. But, when you do need to eventually replace something, the following eco-friendly swaps are not only better for the environment, some could also save you money over time!

So, what are you waiting for? Visit our sustainable swap shop…

Meat-free Mondays

Did you know that going veggie for one day a week could save the equivalent of 100kgs of CO2 each year? In fact, according to the Exeter City Council website, if you decided to do a meat-free week each month, that could save 153kgs of CO2 per year, and going vegan for a week each month would add up to around 230kgs of CO2 saved!

While supermarket prices vary, plant-based produce is typically cheaper than meat, with meatfreemondays.com suggesting that vegans can actually save about $1,280 a year on their food bills. Research also suggests that since plant-based foods are typically lower in saturated fats, this move could improve your heart health, even without full-time vegetarianism.

Bamboo toothbrushes

Traditional plastic toothbrushes aren’t recyclable, which can result in as many as 23 billion toothbrushes going to landfill each year – with each one taking up to 1,000 years to decompose. As an alternative, bamboo toothbrushes have seen a starp rise in popularity, due to the handles being 100% biodegradable (typically taking around six months in compost), and created from sustainable materials. However, this comes with one strong caveat: check the bristle material. These are often made of nylon, which isn’t biodegradable and would need to be removed from the handle before composting.

From a cost perspective, this swap won’t necessarily save money, but prices are comparable to plastic options (lots of great products start at around £2.50), which means that doing your bit for the planet won’t take a hit on your wallet.

Reusable rags

From mopping up spills to drying your hands, many of us turn to paper towels without even thinking about the waste, or cost, involved. But the reality is that to make one ton of paper towels requires 17 trees and 20,000 gallons of water. And, with people in the UK paying anywhere from £1–£3 per 100 sheets of kitchen roll, it adds up.

A simple, eco and cost-friendly solution? Choose reusable rags instead. These could be made from old clothes that no longer fit for a cost-free repurpose. Or you could purchase absorbent, long-lasting cloths, such as the Jangneus Design Cloths which are 100% biodegradable (£9.95 for a pack of four).

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The 4 Minute Pressure Test discussed by Master Shi Heng Yi.

Whether it’s scrolling Instagram or flicking through newsfeeds, we’re constantly being fed messages to make sure we eat healthily. But what does good nutrition really mean, and how can we separate the myths from the tips actually worth following? Jenna Farmer speaks to the experts to get to the bottom of some of the most common nutrition myths to separate fact from fiction

When it comes to eating healthily, we all know the general rule of having our five a day and drinking plenty of water. But when trying to keep up to date with the latest nutritional advice, it can seem as though superfoods are changing all the time, and a week won’t go by without a new trend hitting the headlines. Is it any wonder many of us feel clueless? How can we know which tips are valuable, and which ones we should take with a pinch of salt? Our experts unravel these common nutrition myths to help you sort facts from fiction.

Myth: Low-fat foods are healthier

Reality: Any trip to the supermarket will leave you bombarded with low-fat alternatives to the staples. But high-fat foods don’t always deserve their bad reputation. For example, you may read about high-fat foods being linked to heart attack risk, but one study published in the Lancet found your total fat intake isn’t actually linked to your risk of cardiovascular disease. Many healthy foods are high in fat but are still super healthy, such as avocados and oily fish. These are both rich in omega 3s, found to support brain health.

In turn, lower fat equivalents aren’t always what they seem. “With food and drinks that are labeled low-fat or even fat-free, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good for you, in fact it can be the opposite. They often come with more salt and sugar than the real deal,” says nutrition advisor Simone Thomas.

Myth: Opt for sugar free dupes

Reality: Research has found many of us eat double the amount we should. However, sugar isn’t always the enemy – it’s actually found in a whole range of healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables. These foods also contain other beneficial nutrients as well as fibre (which can slow down the absorption of sugar, which is why eating a whole apple would have less impact on your blood sugar levels than drinking a cup of juice).

“Processed, low-sugar products from the supermarket come with their own health concerns – sugar is replaced with artificial sweeteners in these foods, and these can lead to changes in gut bacteria, and continued sugar cravings. A better option is low sugar fruit, such as berries that contain other nutrients, or raw honey that contains B vitamins and iron,” says nutritionist Hannah Hope.

Myth: Everyone should take a multivitamin

Reality: Whether it’s to help with your energy levels, or for better skin, should we always reach for the multivitamin? Well, not necessarily. According to the NHS website, most of us don’t need to take a multivitamin if we’