Yoghurt, oatmeal and fig breakfast muffins

The pursuit of a healthier diet has, for many years, languished at the murky, ink-splattered bedrock of my mental to-do list. 

Along with finding the perfect red lipstick and finishing The Female Eunuch , I refuse to write it off in the secret hope that one day, inspiration will seize me and I’ll wake up as Gwyneth Paltow.

Blessed as I am with a vocation that requires me to eat cake each day, the GOOP lifestyle is likely to remain out of reach for a while longer. Mockery aside, we'd have to have been hiding under a rock to have missed the revelation that breakfast is the foundation to it being, in Gwyneth's own words ‘all good’. If it’s true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I might be in some trouble.

And so a recipe for breakfast on the go. These muffins are so quick to throw together - and throwing together this truly is - and will last all week, packed as they are with fresh figs to keep them moist and delicious. They're also made using oatmeal, yoghurt and fruit, which totally justify the whole cake-for-breakfast concept. 

THE INGREDIENTS

50g unsalted butter

50g muscavado sugar

1 egg

175g natural yoghurt

100g oatmeal 

35g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

7-8 small figs 

2-3 tbsp honey

9 sprigs thyme (optional)

THE RECIPE

Heat your oven to 180°C / 160°C fan, and line a muffin tin with 9 muffin cases.

Melt the butter, then whisk with the muscavado sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the egg and the yoghurt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oatmeal, plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and the salt. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet, until the two are just incorporated. Divide the mixture among the cases. 

Clean and trim the figs, then cut 5 of them in half. Push a half a fig into each muffin. Slice the remaining figs, and place a slice or two on top of each muffin. Drizzle them with honey, and top with a sprig of thyme (if using). Bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes. 

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APPLE BLACKBERRY BIRCHER POTS

I first blogged my recipe for bircher museli last summer, and the return of lighter mornings has brought back my enthusiasm for wholesome and summery breakfasts on the go.

I love the idea of starting the working day with fruit and a newspaper, but my best hope of that is crammed on a packed tube along with the rest of London. That's why I've been won over by breakfast jars - a blogging cliché they may well be, but they're also practical and ecologically friendly. And is a pretty breakfast such a bad thing?

Now that I'm trying my best to go {dairy free}, I've adapted my recipe so that it's perfect for everyone, and hopefully still tastes delicious. I've also snuck in an extra portion of your 5 a day, which will do much more for your brain power than a heavy dose of caffeine.

Perfect for the time pressed - a quick assembly job of the soaked oats before you go to bed, then load up your jar in the time it takes to make your morning brew. I've used blackberries, but sub in any fruit you've got to hand. Fresh berries are delicious, or stewed peaches, apricots and plums would be just the ticket too.

You can of course use milk instead of the fruit juice, but this is a great substitute if you are looking to cut down on the lactose in your life. If you're using juice, it's worth investing in a not-from-concentrate press such as Bensons if you possibly can. These quantities make two breakfast pots.

 THE INGREDIENTS

150g rolled oats

250ml Bensons apple juice 

1 apple

100ml vanilla soya yoghurt 

150g blackberries

1 lemon

1 tbsp caster sugar

THE RECIPE

For the soaked oats, grate the apple into a large bowl. Add the oats and juice and stir to combine. Cover with cling-film and leave in the fridge overnight.

To make the blackberry purée, put 100g of the blackberries into a saucepan with 1 tbsp of sugar, and the zest and juice of the lemon. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, then leave to cool. Push through a sieve and discard the seeds. 

When you're ready to assemble the jars, layer the blackberry purée, soaked oats and vanilla yoghurt, and top with a few fresh berries.

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