Go Bananas! Banana Muffins

I'd like to make a mini confession....Sometimes I buy a huge bunch of bananas at the store just so they will turn brown before we get a chance to eat them.  Why?  Because then I get to make banana muffins!

I put the brown bananas in the freezer until I get a chance to make muffins.  I like to make a double batch when I make muffins and then freeze the leftovers for breakfast on another day or even several days.  To make a double batch of this recipe, I need six bananas---so when I finally get six uneaten ripe bananas, I, well, go bananas!


Here's the recipe for a single batch (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients

• 1 cup Wheat Flour, Whole-grain*
• 1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour*
• 1/2 cup Oat Flour*
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Cloves, Ground
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 3 medium ripe Bananas
• 1/4 cup Natural Unsweetened Applesauce
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp Canola Oil
• Directions
• In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients and set aside.  In another bowl, combine the eggs, bananas, applesauce, and oil and mix until bananas are fully mashed.
  
  
  Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened.   Coat muffin cups with cooking spray; fill two-thirds full with batter. 
  
  
  Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly touched. cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

One of my biggest temptations is warm muffins right out of the oven.  I like to have my cake (or in this case, muffins) and eat them too, so one of my personal eating goals is to eat a serving of fruit at breakfast and not over indulge in the breads/sweets department.   To do this, I eat one muffin and round out my meal with yogurt and fruit. I find this a lot easier to do on muffin leftover days when I simply count out the number of muffins our family will need for the day, wrap them in foil, and reheat them in the oven.

When second helpings are still frozen, I am less likely to overindulge. Warming leftover muffins in foil is one of my favorite tricks.  It beats the microwave any day!  It works best if the muffins have had a chance to thaw, so count out the muffins you will need for breakfast and wrap them in foil as shown below.  Then simply warm in 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes....20 minutes if they are still frozen.

Now this idea is quite possibly genius!  Ready for it?  Before you go to bed, count out your muffins and wrap them in foil.  Now put them in the oven and set your oven to come on in the morning and cook them so you have warm muffins when you get out of bed.  If you are a coffee addict like me, program your coffee maker too.  See, I told you it was genius!

Now here's a smart 1600 calorie meal plan for the rest of the day!
Breakfast- 381 Calories
Banana Muffin
Vanilla Honey Greek Yogurt
1/2 banana, sliced
Snack-219 Calories
1/4 cup Quick Trail Mix
Lunch- 391 Calories
Black Bean Salad Cheese Quesadilla made with Corn Tortillas
Snack- 51 Calories
Grape Tomatoes
Laughing Cow Cheese
Dinner-563 Calories
Pan Seared Teriyaki Pork Chops
Teriyaki Quinoa
Strawberry Pecan Spinach Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
Total Calories = 1605
*I make up a batch of whole grain flour using Whole Wheat flour, Oat Flour, and Brown Rice Flour.  I then use it as a substitute for all purpose flour in recipes with great results.  I went into a bit more detail about it in a former post....read all about it here.  Of course, you can always stick with using half whole wheat and half all purpose flour or whatever you have on hand.