Banana Chocolate Muffins

What a great weekend I had. Thank you for the sweet birthday wishes to Chris. He said Thank You to you all.

I got to bond with this little one (Jonah, my newborn nephew,  3 days old).

His face has a lot of expressions and he has a strong grip too. I let him hold my finger and I couldn’t believe how strong he was already for only being a few days old.

A few days ago, I made muffins for my sister so she can enjoy them after they come home from the hospital after she gave birth.

I really enjoy baking for others. I love testing out recipes and finding ways to make them healthier. I like knowing my family and friends are able to eat better and healthier treats, even if it is one muffin at a time 🙂

These bananas were one day away from fruit flies. I think they are definitely past their prime and I thought the best way to use them was to bake with them. I used this recipe at Eat Better America website and adapted it.

The very ripe bananas above were perfect for baking. It’s a natural sweetener, and allowed me to use less sugar in the recipe without sacrificing the sweetness.

I think the key to these muffins tasting great is using bananas that are really ripe and never been frozen. The muffins came out moist. Make sure not to over-bake them. Store them in air tight container after it cools.

Best served warm.

Banana Chocolate Muffins

1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups.

2. In large bowl, mix flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and salt.

3. In medium bowl, beat bananas, eggs, oil, milk and vanilla with fork until smooth. Stir into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Gently stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

4. Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove muffins from pan to cooling rack.

I love biting into the banana chunks in the mix.

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun or relaxing?

P.S. I have all our pictures from our engagement shoot. I will be posting  my favorites this week.