HERE’S THE DEAL
My husband has developed a habit of enjoying baked goods, especially muffins, with his coffee after he goes to the gym in the morning – a bit counteractive, I know, but at least he’s working out first. The only problem that I have with this scenario, is that he has been picking up muffins from the grocery store and even Costco, where the ingredients found in the muffins are questionable (read: mostly sugar and things that we can’t pronounce) and often times bigger than my head.
MY ISSUE
While I love to cook, baking is not my cup of tea. I’m not sure why this is exactly – maybe it’s because I don’t have a big sweet tooth, so I selfishly don’t care to make it if I’m not going to eat it? Maybe it’s because I don’t like flour dust everywhere? Either way, it’s not my favourite hobby. But when these store-bought muffins come into our home, it’s not just my gym-going husband who eats them – my two kiddos can smell sugar within a 10 block radius and immediately want to guzzle down whatever is left of the package. This is where I must intervene and get over my baking qualms. It’s not that my kids don’t eat junk food, because they certainly get a taste of it here and there (especially from grandparents); it’s just that I know that muffins can be delicious and taste just as good, if not better, without the soy lecithin.
THE SOLUTION
To make everyone happy, I took to the kitchen to solve my family’s snack dilemma. Our freezer is always stocked with muffin-perfect bananas (saved for just this day apparently, because god forbid we throw out any overripe, blackening tubes of mush), so I decided to get banana muffins going. Knowing that we inevitably throw a couple of brown bananas in the freezer weekly, I also figured that this would be something we could bake regularly and not have to visit three stores for specialty ingredients (hey, there’s another reason why I’m not a big baker). Side bar: if you plan to freeze bananas for muffins and other recipes, peel and throw them in a resealable bag before freezing.
THE TASK
This was two-part for me:
1.) I wanted to find the delicate balance between healthy and yummy – a.k.a. – to make my family wholesome muffins with pronounceable ingredients that don’t compromise on taste (because if it’s too healthy they will KNOW and all my efforts will go to waste!).
2.) I wanted to keep the overall process relatively quick and easy (read: short recipe lists of ingredients and tools required to make said recipe – because washing my food processor can bring me to the brink of insanity in the best of times).
To figure out how healthy and quick/easy I could go without compromising on the taste-factor, I did some experimenting and landed on a super tasty recipe that has received the official stamp of approval from my clan.
This recipe is dairy-free and also free of any refined sugars. I also included some optional ingredients that only add extra health benefits if used but won’t compromise the overall recipe if you don’t have them in your pantry, or don’t like them.
Hope you find this to be a delicious new go-to muffin recipe! If you try them, let me know how they turned out!
HEALTHY HOMEMADE BANANA MUFFINS
Yields 24 small muffins (or 12 – 15 larger muffins), using standard sized muffin tins.
Ingredients
DRY:
2 cups flour (I used all-purpose, but if you have a favourite alternative flour that works well for baking, let me know!)
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt (I used pink himalayan)
WET:
4 overripe bananas (if frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight, or microwave on defrost setting for 2 – 3 minutes)
2 eggs
⅔ cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
⅔ cup maple syrup (not the fake stuff)
1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
OPTIONAL:
1.5 tablespoons ground flax seeds
⅛ cup dark chocolate chips – OR – chopped nuts – OR – blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease muffin tins (or liners) – I used a touch of melted coconut oil.
- Take out two large bowls. In the first, mix all of your DRY ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt – if using ground flax, add here). Set aside.
- In the second bowl, mix all of your WET ingredients. Start with the bananas – mash them with a fork until they’re good and mushy. Add the eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract and mix well with a wire whisk. Feel the arm burn.
- Pour the wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and gently mix until everything is good and incorporated (don’t overdo it, or your muffins will come out tough).
- Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about ½ to ¾ full (secret trick: use an ice cream scoop with one of those push buttons on the side to evenly fill the cups and reduce mess). OPTIONAL: top with dark chocolate chips, nuts or blueberries – give them a little push into the batter with the top of a spoon (or your finger!) so they set while baking.
- Throw the tins in the oven and bake for about 18 – 20 minutes (or until the tops of the muffins are golden and you do the toothpick trick, sticking it in the middle of a muffin and pulling it out clean – read: no wet batter or crumbs left on the toothpick). Pull out the tins and let them cool for a few minutes before turning out the muffins and letting your family demolish them!
*Best served warm or at room temperature. Store in the fridge if you think they’ll last a few days. Or freeze and thaw overnight before enjoying.
Quick and easy banana muffins that use simple, healthy and wholesome ingredients to satisfy everyone in the family – especially mom!
