Banana Bread Muffins

My husband sent me an article yesterday that banana bread is the “official baked good of the pandemic”, which didn’t surprise me because its a comforting classic@ According to the article he sent (you can read it there), this is for both practical and psychological reasons. While I am usually not a huge baker, like many others I have found baking (and consuming baked goods in moderation) comforting during this strange time. Banana bread is certainly a go-to in our house, so the weeks at home have given me quite a bit of time to make tweaks to this wholesome spin and I decided now was as good of a time as ever to share it.

Why this banana bread? There seem to be a recent surge in recipes and I will take no offense if you prefer any of them! I am not a baker by trade, but this recipe is a hit in my house and the ingredients are easy to find and nutritionist approved (that’s me!). For the flour I used a blend of oat flour and almond flour. This results in a good textured bread that has some helpful nutrients like vitamin E and magnesium while also having balance of fiber and fat that helps slow blood sugar spikes. This recipe is also refined sugar free, sweetened with bananas, applesauce and maple syrup. This results in a bread that is not overly sweet (some banana bread recipes have more sugar than flour!), but still hits the spot for a pastry.

I decided to make muffins for a few reasons… the first of them being portion control. Serving up a muffin is so much easier in a pinch (and with a clingy toddler on your hip). Second, my larger loaf kept coming out too soft and underdone in the middle and I was tired of it. Lastly, I have a great silicone muffin mold that makes popping these out a breeze and I just love using it! Let me know if you try this recipe and what you or your little ones think.

Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 cups of almond flour

  • 1 cup of oat flour

  • 1/4 cup of arrowroot powder

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp of salt

  • 2 tsp of cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp of ground ginger

  • 3 Very ripe bananas, mashed

  • 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce (try homemade!)

  • 1/4 cup of maple syrup

  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract

  • optional: chocolate chips!!

Directions:

  1. Mix dry ingredients together in a stand mixer

  2. Add in wet ingredients, mix until smooth

  3. Lightly grease muffin tin (I used this one) with coconut oil or butter

  4. Fill muffin tins until almost full (should make 12 muffins)

  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes.

  6. Enjoy! We like ours with a healthy smear of butter or nut butter :)

SnacksEmily Johnsonkid-friendly, Apples, applesauce, Kid-Friendly, Snacks