Tag Archives: Banana Muffins

Mom’s Banana Bread, Only Healthier

Posted in Healthy Eating, Recipes by

Banana Flax Muffins

This past week has been crazy between rushing to work, running errands and working out.  I needed a quick breakfast and muffins are always my go to for a grab-and-go type morning.  The only problem is that with muffins I can never quite escape the feeling that I am eating cake for breakfast.  I was really craving my mom’s delicious banana bread, so I decided to take her classic recipe and health it up a little bit.

I swapped the all-purpose flour for a combination of whole wheat and flax meal, the sour cream for Balkan style yogurt and I reduced the sugar by half.  If you wanted to make it even healthier you could also take out the oil and substitute it for apple sauce, but I didn’t have any on hand.  I also added some walnuts and raisins, because who doesn’t love a little extra something in their morning muffin?

Flaxseed meal adds a rich nutty flavour, plus fibre and omega-3s, but I didn’t want it to make my muffins too dense.  I did a little research and found that the Livestrong website provides good substitution information for adding flax meal to your recipes.  I used Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal and their website also provides a wealth of information.  I also swapped the sour cream for Balkan style yogurt which is more protein and a whole lot less fat, without changing the texture.

Here’s my recipe:

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed

½ cup sugar

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup plain yogurt

2 eggs

½ cup each, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, flaxseed meal (total of 1 ½ cups)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup raisins

¼ chopped walnuts

In a small bowl mix the wet ingredients until well combined.  In a separate medium bowl mix the dry ingredients.   Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined (do not overmix!)  Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners, and spoon two tablespoons of batter into each.  Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes (or until muffins spring back when you press on the tops lightly with your finger, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean).  Enjoy!

Happy Friday everyone!