Recipe Box: Healthy Banana Muffins

Do you have a few bananas sitting on your kitchen counter that are so ripe, your kids wont even eat them? What do you do with them? Sometimes I like to peel them, cut them in half, and freeze them for smoothies. If I'm feeling ambitious, I will bake some banana bread. But most of the time, I make banana muffins. These are delicious muffins, and good for you too! Most of the time I don't use any of the listed white flour. Instead, I will use only wheat flour. This is a great place to add your flax seeds (ground or not) also. Sometimes I like to throw in some applesauce, they get so tender when you do that. If I don't have bananas, I will use other fruit or raisins I have around. If it weren't for the sugar, this would be the perfect recipe! Heck, use a healthy alternative sweetener and you are set!!

However you decide to make your muffins, I hope you will enjoy them. We like ours for breakfast with a yogurt/fresh fruit smoothie (we also add protein powder to make it a balanced meal). Happy baking!

Healthy Banana Muffins
by Everyday Food (Jan/Feb 2009)
makes 12 muffins

1 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. wheat germ
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c/ butter, room temp.
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda and salt.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.

3. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.

4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25-28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, in rack 10  minutes more.