LIFESTYLE: BANANA MUFFINS RECIPE

Isn’t it so difficult to resist the temptation of eating anything and everything in our pantries since all we’ve been probably doing is lying down on our beds or couches with our pile of snacks to accompany us in our Netflix marathon? I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been seeing numerous individuals who have been starting up their own baking businesses on Instagram. A variety of them sell cookies, cinnamon rolls, and other delightful baking goods. Although these treats are oh so yummy, it’s also oh so packed with calories and added sugar, which can be pretty harmful to our waistline. How are we to achieve that post quarantine glow up that we’ve all been planning for? 

With the abundance of cookies and cinnamon rolls that are flooding my Instagram timeline every single day, I can’t help but feel that the crowd favorite banana bread isn’t getting the attention it truly deserves. Well because of this, I’ve decided to whip out my mom’s healthy banana bread recipe and added some dark chocolate chunks which contain no butter or oil, no added sugar, no gluten and no grain. Oh, and did I mention that it’s only 110 calories per serving? If that doesn’t make you love banana bread even more, I don’t know what will.

The star ingredient of this recipe is chickpea flour or Garbanzo bean flour! Okay, I know that it sounds weird because you might think “chickpea in my banana bread? No way!” but hang with me for a moment while I explain… 

Chickpea flour is inexpensive, nutritious since it’s packed with fiber (6g per serving) and protein (5g per serving), and it’s naturally gluten free! Isn’t that just amazing? The flour is naturally sweet as well so it really helps since this recipe will use no sugar at all! All that sweetness will come naturally from the bananas and the flour! 

With all that being said, here’s the recipe! If you do decide to try the recipe out, let us know how it went on the comments section down below!

Prep time: 10 mins 

Cooking time: 15 to 18 mins 

Yield: 12 muffins 

Ingredients: 

1 ½ cups chickpea flour

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1 tbsp ground cinnamon 

¼ tsp salt 

2 eggs 

3 large bananas ( 1 ½ cups) 

2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

½ cup dark chocolate chunks 

Instructions: 

1.     Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C. Prepare your muffin tin with muffin liners.  
2.     In a large sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. 
3.     In a medium sized bowl, combine the eggs, bananas, unsweetened almond milk, and vanilla extract. Make sure it’s all well blended! 
4.     Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the large sized bowl and stir. 
5.     Fold in the dark chocolate chunk until it’s just blended. Make sure to not overmix it
6.     Scoop the batter onto the muffin tin. 
7.     Bake for 15 to 18 minutes just until the top is golden brown. Insert a toothpick or a knife in the center of the muffin when done. If it comes out clean, let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring it to a plate!

Some tips: 

1.     If you really want that extra sugary goodness, you can use honey, maple syrup, or packed brown sugar! 
2.     If you don’t have unsweetened almond milk at home, you can use Greek yogurt or your oil of choice. 
3.     You can use any type of chocolate! It doesn’t have to be dark chocolate. You can also add in nuts if you would like. I used walnuts on top of mine for decoration. 
4.     Storage tip: store the cooled bread wrapped in foil or plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

Nutrition: 

Serving size: 1 muffin 

Calories: 110 

Sugar: 8 g (natural sugar from the bananas) 

Sodium: 69 g 

Fat: 4 g 

Saturated fat: 2.6 g

Carbs: 17.3 g 

Fiber: 2.1 g 

Protein: 5 g 

Cholesterol 31 mg