Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffins

I think we can all agree that these little blueberry banana muffins are a great thing to add to our lives this spring.

Teeeeeny little blueberry muffins + huuuuge mug of coffee = smiles

Food that is good for you should taste good.

I always look at the ingredients in a bread or muffin recipe before I make it.  If it is filled with something that I personally would not eat by itself everyday (butter, crisco, sour cream, heavy cream)… then I try not to use it in my own bread recipes.  

Using these not-so-healthy ingredients is perfectly fine once in a while, as a treat.  But, if you make breads and muffins to eat often or everyday, then it is important that they are filled with ingredients that are good for you.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t taste great!  You can’t tell a difference!

And yup, leave it to me to make yet another bread with brown-rice flour.  It is one of my new favorite wheat-free flours to use. I love the nutty flavor and cool texture it gives the muffins.  Plus, it is rich in fiber.

This bread is great. You get the banana bread flavor and then the blueberries burst in your mouth.

You can also make this exact recipe with whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour. 

Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffins

Based off this recipe.  It will make around 2 dozen mini muffins, 15 regular muffins, or a large bread loaf (9x5 or two smaller size pans)

• 2 and ½ cups Brown Rice Flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed meal
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 2 large very ripe bananas)
• ¼ cup nonfat plain greek yogurt (or vanilla yogurt, and don’t use the vanilla extract)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, beaten
• ¾ cup skim milk ( or almond milk, soymilk, etc)
• 1 and ¼ cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Direction:

- Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Spray 15 muffin tins with nonstick spray, or mini muffin tines. You don’t need liners, just make sure to spray your pans!! Set aside.

- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, flax, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together until combined. Set aside.

- In a separate large bowl, whisk the honey and brown sugar together. It will be thick and lumpy but mix until it is blended as best you can.  Add the mashed banana, yogurt, and beaten egg.  

- Slowly pour the dr ingredients into the wet ingredients. Gently begin to fold it all together. It will be very thick.

- Add the milk slowly and continue to gently mix the ingredients together. The batter will still be thick but the milk will thin it out. 

- Gently fold in the blueberries and mix it all before the blueberries start to turn the batter blue!  Do not overmix the batter.

- Divide the batter between the muffin tins or loaf pans.  Fill all the way to the top. I sprinkle the tops with cinnamon and sugar.

Muffins:  Bake for about 12 minutes for mini muffins and  17-18 minutes for regular-sized — or until very lightly browned on the edges. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Allow the muffins to cool completely.

Bread:  Fill a bread loaf pan, and any excess batter just pour into small muffin tins.  Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 mintues, but I estimated the time.  I would set the timer for 40 minutes and then keep increasing the time by 5 minutes until it was golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Let rest for about 20 minutes.  Take a knife and run it along the loaf pan and remove it and let cool on a wire rack.

Store Bread: This bread can be kept at room temperature for about 5 days. I keep it in the refrigerator, so it may last even longer. Or, it can be frozen for 3 months.

Like most banana bread, this is best the next day. The muffins become more moist as the days pass.

Yeah… I popped this in my mouth right after I took this photo.