Recipe: Chocolate Banana Energy Muffins

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After indulging on Thanksgiving and the gluttony with all of the leftovers, I NEEDED something healthy to cleanse my body. I wanted something that tasted good but was really healthy too. I love a challenge like that! I thought of all the healthy ingredients I could and packed them into these power-packed Chocolate Banana Energy Muffins. Even the pickiest of eaters will love these muffins!

The only thing that’s marginally “bad” for you in them is the mini chocolate chips (and you could leave them out). There are only 2 tablespoons in the whole darn thing, so really still not too bad. All in all, they are packing a good nutritional punch – low in calories (~130 calories), decent fiber (~3 grams), good amount of protein (~5 grams), low in sodium (~65 milligrams), and low in fat (~2 grams) <see complete nutrition estimates in steps below). So you could even have 2 J Let me walk you through the fast and simple steps.

<Scroll all the way to the bottom for a standard printable recipe>

Here are the ingredients: flour, oatmeal, almond meal, wheat germ, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, egg, milk, vanilla extract, yogurt, honey, bananas, and mini chocolate chips.

Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare your muffin tin by spaying with either cooking spray or by lining with paper liners. Set aside.

Combine all of the dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl (in no particular order)…flour, oatmeal, almond meal, …

…wheat germ, cocoa powder, …

… baking soda, and salt

Sift with whisk to remove any lumps. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients (in no particular order) (egg, milk, vanilla extract, yogurt, honey, and bananas).

(I was lucky enough to have been given a bunch of farm fresh eggs from my husband’s co-worker.  So nice!)
Helpful Tip: When your bananas go brown before you have a chance to eat them – don’t toss them in the trash. Just toss them into the freezer (peeled or unpeeled) where they’ll stay until it’s time to bake these muffins or banana bread. They’ll keep in there well for months.

…the plain yogurt and honey.  Tip: spray measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray for easy removal (the honey can stick to the sides of the measuring cup/spoon and cause inaccurate measuring).

Whisk to thoroughly combine.

Add the bananas – and if not extremely soft, like mine, mash well with a fork on a plate before adding. Whisk to fully incorporate the banana – okay to have a few small chunks of banana, but not a lot.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Using a rubber scraper, fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix.  Use folding technique as outlined below.

To “fold” ingredients together:  Hold the spatula in your dominant hand and grasp the far edge of the bowl (side that is away from you) with your non-dominant hand.  Turn the bowl towards you with your non-dominant hand while simultaneously scraping around the edge (also toward you) and finish by folding the mixture over on top of itself.  Return both hands to the far side of the bowl and follow-up by cutting through the center of the mixture with your utensil and once again folding the mix over on top of itself (again, turning the bowl simultaneously).  Alternate scraping around the side and through the middle of the bowl until the mixture is just combined together.

Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips, if using.

Scoop the batter into prepared muffin tins. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 way full. I find using an ice cream scoop helps to ensure they are not too full and are even. I only had enough batter for 11 muffins. I feel cheated somehow. I guess that’s what I get for making up a recipe 🙂

Bake them at 350°F (175°C).

Bake for 18-20 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean after inserting in center of one muffin.

Note: if using min chocolate chips, you could notice some of the melted chocolate on the toothpick – which is okay.

Remove from muffin pan and place on a cooling rack – or enjoy hot from the oven if you can’t wait like me.

Look at how beautiful these are. They have great flavor, they’re moist, and not overly sweet. A delicious way to get some nutrition.

Here are some nutrition estimates for each muffin baked as described (I used low fat buttermilk and non-fat Greek yogurt – rest as shown in recipe).

Enjoy the comfort of food!

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Printable Recipe:

Chocolate Banana Energy Muffins

Print recipe

Serves	11
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	30 minutes
Allergy	Egg allergy, Milk Allergy (Dairy), Wheat Allergy (Gluten)
Dietary	Diabetic, Vegetarian
Meal type	Breakfast
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot

Delicious and moist chocolate banana muffins. They're healthy too (only 130 calories per muffin)!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white wheat flour (all-purpose ok)
• 1/2 cup oatmeal (I used old fashioned oats; you can use oat bran too if you like))
• 1/4 cup almond meal (ground or finely chopped almonds)
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ (optional, but if not using just replace witih 2 tablespoons flour))
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or any salt)
• 1 Large egg
• 1/4 cup low fat buttermilk or skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain yogurt)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 Medium bananas, very ripe
• 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (if desired)

Note

Recipe URL: https://recipesingoodtaste.com/?recipe=recipe-chocolate-banana-energy-muffins

Directions

Step 1		Pre-heat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Step 2		Prepare muffin tin by spaying with cooking spray or with lining with paper liners.
Step 3		Combine all of the dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl (flour, oatmeal, almond meal, wheat germ, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt).
Step 4		Sift with whisk to combine.
Step 5		In a large mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients (egg, milk, vanilla extract, yogurt, honey, and bananas).
Step 6		Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Do not over-mix.
Step 7		Stir in mini chocolate chips, if using
Step 8		Scoop into prepared muffin tins.
Step 9		Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 18-20 min.
Step 10		Remove muffins from muffin tin and place on a cooling rack or eat immediately.
Step 11		Tip: When bananas go brown, just toss them into the freezer (peeled or unpeeled) where they’ll stay until it’s time to bake these muffins or banana bread.

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PS: If you see mistakes (i.e., spelling errors or inconsistencies in the recipe), please tell me right away. I appreciate any help I can get!

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