Lee’s Banana Muffins
Elisabeth’s grandmother, Lee Lester, is not a new comer to the healthy food movement. Even waaaaay back in the 1990s she was using organic ingredients, combining both cooked and raw combinations of fresh fruits and vegetables with every meal and substituting whole grains for as much of the pre-packaged stuff as she could. And Lee is not a woman you would call one of those “earthy-crunchy’ granola people. I point this out only because eating like this can be part of anyone’s lifestyle. It’s been very interesting watching Elisabeth progress through the child’s food cycle and seeing what she will gladly eat (in quantity not just picking) when she is at Lee’s house. The best part about that is now Elisabeth’s taste buds have expanded she will eat same stuff every wherever she goes. It’s no longer a matter of pleasing someone or knowing what you can (as a kid) get away with.
These banana muffins are very moist and sweet and (goes without saying) good for you. Lee prefers using only organic ingredients. However purchase what you can depending on your local market. I’ve listed alternatives too, which won’t alter that taste of the muffin.
Brown Rice Flour is gluten free, higher in protein, fiber, foliates, magnesium and B vitamins than white flour. It can be pricey and hard to find. If this presents an issue, substitute Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (which is less dense than the plain whole wheat flour). You can use 2 cups of unbleached All Purpose Flour too; it just has lesser quantities of nutrition than brown rice or whole wheat flour. And the overall objective to lessen your intake of white flour. However, these muffins, because of the bananas alone will still be good for you!
This recipe makes between 18 to 24 muffins — just perfect for the weekend and a Monday morning school or summer camp snack.
Ingredients:
- ½ Cup Agave Nectar
- ¾ Cups Sugar
- ½ Cup Grape Seed Oil (or regular vegetable oil)
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2-3 Ripe Bananas (they should be blackening)
- Flour: 1 Cup All Purpose Flour, and 1 Cup Brown Rice Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1 Tsp. Baking Powder
- ½ Tsp. Salt
- 1 Tsp. Real Vanilla
Directions
- Grease the muffins tins with some butter or cooking spray. Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.
- Beat together the sugar, agave nectar and grape seed oil and both eggs.
- Mash the bananas and add them to the mix.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Combine well.
- Fill the muffin tins three-quarters full, as these muffins do not rise very much.
- Bake about 15 to 20 minutes, until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.
