‘Nana Muffins Both Ways

It was time. The bananas sitting in the fruit bowl on the island had turned the perfect shade of brown. Greg relinquished his claim on them a few days prior for the greater good. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a loaf tin to my name and the last time I tried to use the bundt pan, I set the fire alarm off. The natural solution? Muffins.

Classics on the Rocks

I kept the deviations to a minimum here because I wanted one batch to be a guaranteed home run. God forbid my improvised batch fell flat and we were left without. However, without vanilla extract, I was forced to take one risk. One of these ingredients is not like the others…

Makes 12 muffins. Approximate macros per muffin: 2.5g protein, 22.2g carbs, 9.2g fat, 180 calories

Ingredients:

• 200g banana

• 2 cups whole wheat flour

• 100g coconut oil

• 2 eggs

• 115g brown sugar

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1.5 oz spiced rum

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Beat brown sugar, coconut oil, and egg together until smooth.

3. Add banana, flour, and baking soda.

4. Mix in rum.

5. Distribute evenly into a muffin tin, making sure not to overfill.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Minis with a Twist

Banana muffins are perfect as they are, and should frequently be enjoyed in their natural state. However, I couldn’t resist trying my hand at a lower calorie version with a higher protein profile, for those days when you don’t feel like compromising.

My last few forays into baking with zero calorie sweetener have not been fruitful. My digestive system has learned the hard way that stevia is not a 1:1 substitute for sugar. But I had to give it one last go, so I scaled back and only partially substituted, keeping a healthy dose of brown sugar in the mix. As always, I couldn’t resist swapping protein powder + oats for flour and adding almonds for protein, fat, and satiety. The mini muffin tin was out of necessity, but I think the smaller portion is right on theme.

Makes about 29 mini muffins. Approximate macros per muffin: 2.7g protein, 5.9g carbs, 4.6g fat, 75 calories

Ingredients:

• 200g banana

• 100g protein powder

• 55g old fashioned oats

• 100g coconut oil

• 2 eggs

• 50g brown sugar

• 1/2 cup zero calorie sweetener

• 45g slivered almonds

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1.5 oz spiced rum

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Beat brown sugar, sweetener, coconut oil, and egg together until smooth.

3. Add banana, protein, oats, and baking soda.

4. Mix in rum and almonds.

5. Distribute evenly into a muffin tin, making sure not to overfill.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.