Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Better Banana Muffins

It is hot!  And that's what kept me away from my house today (sans air conditioning) and at the coffee shop to plug through some work.
I met Marsha for some strength training and intervals this morning and then retreated to Sabine's, my favorite local coffee shop.  They have been going through major changes, incorporating a bakery into their midst and I think the addition is superb.  Of course it is without vegan options, but I made my request today.  Because I was unaware of their newly added food source, I brought my own this morning:
More of those delicious banana muffins topped with Sunflower Seed Butter and a cup of iced decaf.  Well, I think it's about time I divulge my secret formula for these fruit-sweetened muffins so here you go.


Better Banana Muffins (vegan, gluten free, sugar free)

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup applesauce (the kind with just apples, no added sugar or preservatives)
1 tsp Almond extract
1 cup Almond Flour
1 cup Oat Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sliced Almonds
1/2 cup oats

In small bowl, mash bananas and stir in applesauce and almond extract.

In medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Stir wet ingredients into dry.  Add sliced almonds and oats and stir well. 

Prepare muffin tin with paper liners or grease and spoon batter into each cup 3/4 full.  Makes 12 muffins.  (They don't rise too much so feel free to fill up the cups).  Bake at 350* for 15-17 minutes.
These muffins are sweet enough without the addition of sugars or sweeteners.  The bananas and the applesauce does just enough.

A friend of mine is on a cleanse and can't have any gluten or sugar (even agave, honey or maple syrup) so I devised these muffins as a perfect little treat for her.  They would be great for breakfast (just like mine above) or for an afternoon "whole-foods" snack.  Because there is no added sugar and the flours are entirely made from almonds and oats, I feel 100% ok with eating these as my afternoon snack instead of an apple or pear. 

And because I was just dying to know how these muffins shaped up, I punched in the ingredients on My Daily Plate and came up with this:
Not too bad, just over 200 calories a muffin.  And each muffin comes packed with 7 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber with just 8 grams of sugar!  I am pretty excited about that!  I think overall I did a pretty good job and making a cleanse-friendly, diet-friendly, allergy-friendly muffin.  One that meets all criteria and still tastes delicious!

1 comment:

  1. Those muffins look mighty tasty. Banana is always a good choice for a muffin. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog till tomorrow night and I'd love it if you'd come by and link your muffins up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/06/sweets-for-saturday-20.html

    ReplyDelete