biome boost muffins

packed with blueberries, walnuts, chia seeds, bran, wholemeal flour and kefir for a happy gut

these mix up in one bowl and use melted coconut oil, so there’s no creaming or faffing

kefir (or buttermilk) keeps them soft and gently tangy; bran sticks give them fibre and a bit of crunch

use frozen blueberries straight from the freezer — no need to thaw — and don’t skip the walnuts unless you’re morally opposed to texture

they freeze and reheat beautifully, which makes them perfect for weekday grab and go moments

yields half a dozen muffins

ingredients

40g coconut oil, melted

1 egg

80g kefir (good substitutes would be buttermilk, or a plant-based milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice)

30g caster sugar

45g bran sticks

15g desiccated coconut

65g wholemeal self-raising flour

20g walnuts, roughly chopped

1 tsp chia seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp maca powder

100g blueberries (frozen is ok!)

method

preheat the oven to 180C

lightly oil a muffin tin

whisk the melted coconut oil (40g), egg (1), kefir (80g), and sugar (30g) in a large bowl until smooth and slightly frothy

add the bran sticks (45g), coconut (15g), flour (65g), walnuts (20g), chia (1 tsp), cinnamon (1 tsp), and maca powder (1 tsp) stir gently until everything is just combined it should look a bit rustic and flecked rather than smooth

fold in the blueberries (100g, frozen is fine) with a light hand (overmixing here will give you purple cement)

divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cases about three quarters full

bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer comes out clean

cool in the tin for 5 minutes then move to a rack

they’re great warm but also surprisingly good the next day once the bran has softened