THE RETURN OF THE BRILLIANT BANANA BREAKFAST BARS

Bananas are one of the most versatile fruits you can have in your kitchen. Great in cakes, tarts and
puddings and as part of my fabulous breakfast bars which I posted up last year. When they went online, they were an instant hit due to their simplicity. Its one of the easiest recipes ever, great for when you want to whip up a delicious homemade treat with a minimal effort. Whats even better is that they are void of eggs, sugar, syrup and treacle so they are much more waistline friendly than your more traditional flapjacky oaty bar. The natural sugars in the banana and dried fruits are all you need to make this a brilliant grab-on-the-go treat!

MATTYB'S BANANA BREAD BONANZA PART 4: SUPERFOOD SEEDS

This recipe brings my banana bread bonanza to a close with a forth version of my favorite bake which is packed full of delicious sunflower and flax-seed. Sometimes referred to as superfoods, those crunchy little nuggets of goodness will have you saying "well it's OK for me to have a slice of this, its full of superfood goodness". Well that what I kept telling myself when I dived into a slice or two of this over the last weekend. Well when cake is as quick, simple and delicious to make as this then it would be criminal not too!

MATTYB'S BANANA BREAD BONANZA PART 3: TOTALLY TROPICAL

So you don't want fruit and nuts in your banana bread and you're not keen on popping chocolate chips in there (you nutter!), so what do you do. Well how about getting all tropical with your bad self and popping some coconut into the mix. Banana and coconut are very complimentary to each other so they make the perfect combination for many a bake. This is such a great way to use up your old bananas and desiccated coconut and once again you can get it prepared and baked in under 1 hour if you get your quick legs on.

MATTYB'S BANANA BREAD BONANZA PART 2: CHOCOLATE CHIP

So what happens if you look at my boozy fruit and nut banana bread and decide that's not the one for you. Well how does a banana bread littered with chocolate chips grab you? This version of my banana bread is even quicker as you don't have to worry about soaking  sultanas or chopping nuts. You simply chuck in your chocolate chips in at the end, bake and in under an hour you can have an amazing chocolate banana bread on your table ready for your next pot of tea! Magic! Now the quality of the chocolate chips you use does equate to the quality of the bread. You can lash in some cheap milk chocolate chips if you want but I find that dark chocolate chips of around 85% cocoa gives the chocolate enough oomph to be heard over the banana flavor. 

MATTYB'S BANANA BREAD BONANZA PART 1: BOOZY FRUIT AND NUT!

Ah! What better way to spend a chilly afternoon then making a delicious banana loaf. For me its one of those go to bakes for when you need something comforting and warm with a nice big mug of tea! We always have bananas in our freezer which we pop in there as they begin to turn and then when defrosted, they become soft and perfect for incorporating into a cake batter. Banana bread recipes are easy to adapt so over the next few posts I'm going to show you a couple of variations starting with this boozy fruit and nut banana bread.

"NEW YEAR NEW ME" BREAKFAST PANCAKES

I've never been one to eat breakfast, but with my "new year, new me" attitude I've started to try and get on board with what is often declared as the most important meal of the day. To do this, I've been looking for more interesting breakfast ideas to try and make it more exciting. This is how I came to make these banana and flax seed pancakes. Super quick and simple to make, it turns boring porridge oats into something that's worth getting up in the morning for. There aren't many ingredients to really talk about here. It's bananas, eggs, oats and some flax seeds. Flax seeds can be picked up in lots of large supermarkets now due to their increasing popularity but my tip if your in the UK is to keep an eye on Holland and Barrett's penny sale as I got mine from there at a bargain price.

SUMMER SMOOTHIES: BREAKFAST ON THE GO

Next in my series of summer time smoothies comes this delicious oaty version that is brilliant for a breakfast time treat and ideal for whipping up the night before, leaving in your fridge and then grabbing in the morning if you don't have time to enjoy a proper sit down brekkie. This recipe is a simple strawberry and banana version with a smidge of honey for sweetness but you can experiment with different fruit to suit your own taste and create your very own individual and unique "Breakfast On The Go".

SUMMER SMOOTHIES: TOTALLY TROPICAL

Not all smoothies need to contain yoghurt to make them delicious. In the third of my series of

delicious summer smoothies I've used some tinned pineapples, peaches and banana along with a good swig of complimentary pineapple juice to create another refreshing concoction perfect for cooling you down on a blistering warm day. Its also great for vegans out there as well as those who are lactose intolerant, why should they miss out on all the smoothie action!

SUMMER SMOOTHIES: MIXED BERRY

My next installment of summer smoothie madness is this delicious mixed fruit version. What's great about this recipe is that it shows how you can boost the goodness of your smoothies using a mixture of both fresh and frozen mixed berries. The joint pleasure of this is that you get the fresh fruity burst of the fresh berries as well as the cold hit of frozen berries which gives an instant chill to the smoothie without the need for having ice cubes around which you may not always have in your freezer. From ingredients to glass in less than 5 minutes! Perfect!

SUMMER SMOOTHIES: STRAWBERRY, LIME AND BANANA

You might find this bizarre what with me being a total foodie but I have a proper aversion to eating

raw fruit. It's a texture thing more than a flavor thing. I just can't handle it! Blend it into a smoothie though and I'm sorted. With summer here and a beach body needed to be achieved before October and the super warm days now upon us here in the UK, here is my first summer smoothie recipe. a simple strawberry, lime and banana connection that's great to get down you at breakfast time or as a refreshing afternoon treat!