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recipe | our favorite (and most healthy) banana muffin recipe



Bananas are something my family always has around. Always. Adam grabs one in the morning for breakfast, Calvin snacks on them throughout the day, not to mention we love to make things like smoothies and magical ice cream with them!

Inevitably, they sometimes get a little old. Nice and brown, wrinkly. I personally have a narrow banana-eating window. Just after the green is gone but before another day has passed. I am teased about this in my house, but I seriously can't stand a mushy banana. Ew. The texture is already weird enough...and then they get all mushy and stringy? Nope. Can't handle it.

BUT. I am a big fan of banana bread. Or, in this case, muffins. I used to only make banana bread (I love the nice crust it gets, and the way bread looks and slicing it...I'm a bread person). But since having a toddler (who loves hand-held food), and a husband (who likes to throw random things in his lunch box), I lately prefer muffins. Less crumbs from slicing, easy to throw in a diaper bag (inside another container, of course. Nobody wants muffins mixing with the diapers!), muffins are the answer to everything.

However, we are those parents that don't really give our kiddo sugar. It isn't that he's never tried something with sugar, it's more that we try to keep it out of his diet as much as possible. So for a few months now, as bananas get old, I have been tweaking this recipe.



I'm finally satisfied with it. This recipe uses honey instead of sugar, and depending on your taste, is very flexible. It is forgiving if you'd like to toss in a handful of flax seeds or chia seeds. It has some protein with that plain greek yogurt, and uses coconut oil as the fat. Also, oats. Oats just give bread of any kind that lovely, hearty texture that I love.

All that said, these still taste nice and sweet. I kid you not when I tell you all 16ish (yes, they are a weird not-even-dozen-amount because of my tweaking) are gone within a week. Or less. We LOVE them!

I think the key is waiting until your bananas are almost-dead-ripe. That's when they're the sweetest. Then, you can use less honey (or use all of it! They will be delightful), and they are sweet and full of flavor.

These muffins make a great little breakfast or midday snack. You can also freeze them after you've baked and let the muffins cool and pull them out a couple months later for breakfast or surprise guests. If you ask my husband, he'd recommend slathering peanut butter on them between bites. To each his own.




Recipe:

3 ripe bananas
2/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 cup honey (depending on your taste and the sweetness of the bananas)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt


*optional: 1/4 cup chia seeds or 1/4 cup flax seeds

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Mix bananas, coconut oil, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and honey in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. If you prefer, mash bananas with a fork and then mix with a spoon.
In a seperate bowl, mix dry ingredients.
Add dry ingredients all at once.
Mix until incorporated.
Scoop into greased or lined muffin tin until each cup is 3/4 full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and when inserted, a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

A note: I think the honey makes a difference. My favorite is raw honey that I buy locally. I like the strong flavor it provides to the muffins.










1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try this recipe out. I'm always looking for healthier options. : ) Love you!

    ReplyDelete