Banana Muffins

We love banana muffins, banana bread, smoothies with bananas, banana pancakes, updated banana pudding (and this traditional version), banana ice cream cake, a plain old banana plus peanut butter for a snack. So is it really true that banana crops are having a hard time these days? If so, we're not going to make it in this world. It's going to be bad! We just love them that much. 

So this week, bananas on the brain, we took an old favorite muffin recipe and did a few things differently to make it over. Instead of sugar, sour cream, and all-purpose flour, we used honey, yogurt, and sprouted wheat flour. We've found that sprouted wheat is easier on a lot of folks' stomachs (and as you can read here: it acts more like a vegetable than a grain!) We added walnuts because they're good for everything including your hair and skin. And there's rum added, well, just because. 

(Just as soon as we made over this old recipe, we got MSL in the mail, and on the cover? 'Bake it Better: Healthier Takes on Cookies, Cakes, Bars, and More'. This month, there are recipes for granola cookies, lemon-yogurt cupcakes, no-bake chocolate almond bars, graham flour and jam pastry squares -- all with some great substitutions that add some nutrition to dessert. Love it!)

Banana Muffins 

3 ripe bananas (mashed well)
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla 
1 tablespoon rum
1 cup sprouted wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder 

Topping (optional):
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter (diced)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the wet ingredients well. Separately, whisk the dry ingredients. Fold wet into dry carefully so the batter is just mixed. Pour batter into a muffin tin lined with something like these If You Care unbleached baking cups. Mix topping ingredients together and press on top of muffins. Bake muffins for 30-40 minutes until tops are crisp and lightly browned. Be sure to let them cool for at least 15 minutes before you eat them because they're actually better that way. (Makes 9 muffins.)