These banana and walnut muffins are a great sweet treat for when you are trying to make healthier choices but the sweet tooth is calling for some attention. I have been trying my best to cut out refined sugar as it does nothing for my mental health or mood and it is also a poison to the human body, let's just be blunt about it.
I dooo enjoy refined sugar, I'm human and it's super addictive lol I try to stay away as much as possible though and until my will power matches my intentions and knowledge, I try to make things that help me miss it as little as possible.
Sugar free sweet treats are PERFECT for that.
I made a video on Instagram that may have led you to this blog post and in that video I added some naughty additions to these muffins - I will include them as options in the ingredients because I am no hypocrite LOL and it made that version of these muffins a different version of delicious but for those trying to cut the crap out, these beautiful muffins can still be your friend.
Side note - I am NEVER shaming anyone when I share my views on things and I do call refined sugar naughty because as I mentioned above.. I am striving to get to a point where I do not ingest any at all but we aren't all on the same path or at the same point in our journeys so I will always share where I am at but I will also be open enough to let you know that I respect everyone's unique position and opinion, I am navigating my own journey day by day and despite the facts, I enjoy naughty things at times lol
I don't want to give you too much to read before the good stuff so I will add some extra notes at the bottom - just a few things I change or experiment with when making these. Where you see a * this means there's notes below :) (Yes I'm extra and explained it lol)
Enjoy your batch my lovelies and let me know how you get on with them or if you make any delightful remixes that I can try.
INGREDIENTS
4 - 5 mashed ripe small/medium bananas (3 is also good but the more bananas, the more moisture)
⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup of any kind of milk or water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups gluten free flour - or any other flour you want to use
⅓ cup old-fashioned oats
2 eggs (optional - I don't use any)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius).
Grease up your muffin tin with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray *
Mix the coconut oil & maple syrup together in a nice big bowl.
If you used eggs, add them and then whisk everything thoroughly (use a fork if you don't have a whist) if you didn't use eggs, this is the time to add the mashed bananas and milk
Once these are all mixed together add baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon
Swap the whisk (or fork) for a big spoon now and mix in the flour, oats and any nuts or chocolate you may have used *
Scoop the mix into your muffin tray or cups (about 2/3 full) This is where you can add your sprinkles if you are including any. I had walnuts on top of mine*
Bake for 25-30 mins*
Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. You might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan. These muffins will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They keep well in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months (just defrost individual muffins as needed).
NOTES*
- The picture above is of me enjoying a slice of thin banana bread that I made with the leftover muffin mix
- When you are mixing everything together and you add the nuts, feel free to add any other bits and bobs that tickle your fancy. I love to experiment here but at the moment, as I've probably mentioned 87 times due to the difficulty associated with it, I'm cutting down on refined sugar but when I'm not, I often get a chocolate bar or 2, chop them up and throw them in. Snickers works wonderfully. Chocolate or peanut butter chips are also a great addition for the sprinkles on top of the muffins.
- We want to keep these as healthy as possible so olive oil or coconut oil are the only oils I would use. I saw a post where someone replaced oil with apple sauce in their muffins so that's an option too.
- These are suitable for vegans if you leave the eggs and the chocolate out.
- If you found this recipe after seeing the video I shared on Instagram, you would have seen that my muffins came out almost as flat as a cookie. This was because I accidentally used 1/2 cups where I should have used full cups and so this was super confusing but they were so delicious and I had also added 5 bananas to the mix so they kind of dominated when it came to texture. It was all a big beautiful accident that I must try to master lol
- If you have non stick muffin trays, use them. You do not need the paper cups but if you do use some, get GOOD ones because mine were terrible quality and stuck to the muffins.
As you can tell, I am not a professional baker or a chef but I LOVE food and will continue to share with you all as I experiment with and refine the recipes that I love. Let me know if you try these - ENJOY! x
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