Banana Almond Muffins
When was the last time you had a muffin?
For me, it was when we had breakfast at Ventana. They have gluten-free breads and pastries – when I saw they had apple-cinnamon muffins, I was scary excited.
I love muffins and always seem to forget about them when I’m at the store. When I’m baking, I like to make “real” dessert (like cupcakes or pizookies)- muffins are more like in-betweeners. The browning bananas on the counter were begging to be baked,
so I made a batch of muffins to freeze and enjoy over the next couple of weeks.
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Banana Almond Muffins
gluten-free, veganizable
Makes 12
-1 C almond meal
-1 C brown rice flour (or whole wheat)
-1 t cinnamon
-1 t baking powder
-1/8 t nutmeg
-pinch sea salt
-3 ripe, mashed bananas
-6 oz yogurt (or canola oil)
-1 large egg (or flax egg)
-1/4 C honey (or liquid sweetener of choice)
-1 t vanilla extract
-1 t molasses (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350*. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
3. Add the bananas, egg, yogurt, honey, vanilla and molasses- stir well.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Try to let cool completely so you don’t burn your mouth off. This is where I failed.
-Amazing topped with protein fluff or nut butter, crumbled onto oats, or plain on-the-go.
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While I was making the muffins, I also put together a quick batch of cheesy zucchini bites (using this cheese sauce and sliced zucchini). The original plan was to make kale chips, too, but my lovely bunch of kale had grey bugs crawling into between the leafy crevices. Before I knew the bugs were there, I washed the kale well, tore off chip-sized pieces and was about to pour the cheese sauce on top. I then saw the teeny tiny bugs (maybe the size of a poppyseed) crawling around the sides of the bowl. Any idea what they were? Needless to say, the kale made a quick trip to garbage disposal city.
Speaking of bugs (which made me think of lizards somehow), Bella has become the lizard hunter over here. She goes INSANE for the huge lizards that come out in the spring/summer and chases them in the backyard. I’m horrified for the day that she catches one.
She scared me yesterday morning because I let her outside while I was changing Livi, and when I called her to come in, she wouldn’t.
I pulled out the secret weapon:
“Bell, want some chicken?”
Nothing.
She was finally discovered in a bush, waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting lizard. She picked a lizard over chicken. That’s a big deal.
Today, I’m going to get in a quick HIIT workout and take Livi swimming with some friends and their babies.
Hope you have a great day and I’ll see ya later with a Family post!
xoxo
Gina
Muffin love:
Any fave recipes to share? Feel free to link away in the comments!
Something to read:
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THose muffins look delish, might have to give them a try.
I am in love with that picture of Bella in the grass 🙂 and that swimsuit is crazy adorable. Have a good day 🙂
Those muffins look amazing, and I LOVE the ingredient list! Definitely bookmarking this recipe 🙂 Can’t wait to try it out! On a less appetizing note, I used to dog sit for my neighbors when they went on their summer vacation, and their dogs usually liked to bring me a little “present,” usually in the form of a chipmunk they had caught. It was pretty horrifying, especially the first time it happened.
Ahhh, that swimsuit is SOOO adorable! Have a great time swimming 🙂
Watched Bobby Flay on the today show this morning and thought of you 🙂
i’m watching him right now! swooooooooon
Love the swimsuit! She must look adorable in it! 🙂
Those look great!! I always forget about muffins, too. They just don’t come to mind when they think about what I want to bake.
Love the new muffin recipe! I think I have everything to make them too!
I’ve seen those bugs on Kale before, but don’t know what they are. Let me know if you figure it out.
Thanks for the muffin reminder. I’ve been in a breakfast rut.
I think the little grey bugs are probably aphids! On a lighter note, that little swimsuit is adorable 🙂
Livi’s swimsuit is darling! Those muffins look sooo good. I like using brown rice flour in baked goods. My husband is allergic to nuts so I just limit myself to Justin’s almond butter packets, but I may at some point try experimenting with your recipe using maybe a mix of buckwheat, sorghum, and quinoa flours instead of the almond meal. If you think that would be a baking disaster let me know.
My dog, Chloe (she’s a Jack Russell Terrier), loves to hunt lizards in our backyard. She even likes to eat them too. Yucky. I have to admit, it’s funny to see her getting ready to pounce on her “prey.”
I cannot even stand how cute Olivia’s swimsuit is!
That swimsuit is all kinds of adorable!
I wouldn’t worry too much about Bella and the lizards. My parents dog catches a few every year. It’s disgusting because she likes to throw them around and roll on them. But once she realizes its dead, she’s done playing. Barbaric, yes, but apparently very fun for a dog,
The kale from my dads backyard sometimes has those bugs on the leaves. Gross!
That bathing suit is so cute!! And Andy is the same was as Bella is with lizards, except for bunnies. He goes crazy and paws at the window until we take him outside so he can chase them. Thankfully he never caught one, I don’t think he’d know what to do if he did, probably wait for it to run so he could chase it again. ;p
I love the ingredients in these muffins, I bet these are delicious!! Have a great week!!
I want those muffins! can you explain almond meal? is it possible to make at home?
enjoy your workout!!
you can definitely make it as home- just grind up almonds in the food processor or vitamix
Love the adorable baby swimsuit!
That bathing suit has to be one of the cutest things I have seen! I love banana muffins. Also banana chocolate chip muffins are pretty fantastic 🙂
Hopefully Bella will never actually catch a lizard! I think I would freak out. Haha.
That bathing suit is RIDICULOUS. So freaking cute. And thanks for the muffin recipe! I am always looking for gluten-free muffins and love that you can freeze them (as well as smother them in AB).
That is quite possibly the cutest swimsuit I’ve ever seen 🙂
YUMMY!!! I love muffins too. SO delicious 🙂
bella is adorable. and i cannot handle that swimsuit! enjoy the day!
Hi Gina,
I rarely comment, but the post you wrote about Bikram was really interesting. I was wondering if you could give a range of the calories you typically burn doing zumba (which I’m sure depends on your class that day)?
Thanks and Livi is ADORABLE!
Hi Gina,
I rarely comment, but the post you wrote about Bikram was really interesting. I was wondering if you could give a range of the calories you typically burn doing zumba (which I’m sure depends on your class that day)?
Thanks and Livi is ADORABLE!
Now I’m craving muffins! They look fantastic.
That’s a really cute swimsuit for Livi!
Take pics of Livi swimming!!!! I love watching babies swim!
Thanks for the muffin love! (and my nickname is “muffin” so you can take that either way…)
I just recently found your blog and had to tell you that I love your cookie cereal recipe! I want to eat it for every meal, no joke. I will be trying the breakfast cookie soon, but it will be hard to top that cereal. Thanks for the recipes!
Ooh those muffins sound so good! 🙂 Bella is such a little cutie. She tempts me to buy a puppy so much!
Omg, you have to post pictures of her in that little suit! It’s so adorable 😀
Blueberry Quinoa muffins: http://namomste.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-scored-at-grocery-store.html
Do you think they make Livi’s bathing suit in adult sizes? ADORABLE.
Please show us a picture of Livi in her swimsuit and sunglasses!
Sounds like aphids, they come in more than one color (you have probably seen green ones on rose stems).
They infest crops, so your kale may be the product of a dishonest farmer trying to make money off a bad season or just an honest mistake.
I personally wouldn’t buy leafy green veggies from that store for two weeks or so, especially at the DM commissary (in case it was an entire batch of something). That place is a nightmare anyway! I almost got pooped on by a bird in there! Bah.
my dog is a “lizard hunter” too! She will drive you crazy with wanting to be let back in and out of the house to go chase them!
One of my very first blog recipes that was baked and not cookie dough balls or a Vitamix creation 🙂 were vegan, GF, banana almond muffins! And I made them during the 9 mos we lived in AZ so this post brings me back to those! Yours look awesome!
Gina!
You won’t believe this! I read your post this morning..drooled over the muffins, aww-ed over the bathing suit, and felt really badly for you about the kale (and was grossed out by the bugs!) I just went to make a salad beast for lunch and those bugs were ALL over my romaine-two heads of it! Had to toss it out-now I am having a salad beast minus the lettuce. No idea what they were-but yuck!
I love muffins too. I have a muffin recipe that uses apples, carrots, pecans, and coconut, which I just happen to have in the freezer…YUM!
I also really like greens, but have never gotten the bitterness out of Kale. Any tips?
Mmm those muffins sound delicious!! I made a Carrot’s and Cake muffin recipe a few months ago and loved it! I need to bring muffins back into my life! Yuck about the bugs on the kale, I would have been WAY freaked out– bugs scare me, especially around food! And that swimsuit is so, so adorable!
Love Livi’s swimsuit!! So adorable! I’ve seen those bugs on kale from stores where I live often. It grosses me out, they are in between every little wrinkle and they are hard to wash off!! It often prevents me from picking up the green goodness 🙁
Oh My goodness, your muffins look sooo devine. So healthy too. Win-win!
Bella you are just so cute too! So it this swimsuit for Livi as well!
My fav Recipe is: Moni Guilt-Free Blueberry Muffins:
http://monicanelsonfitness.com/blog/meals/fruit-treats/guilt-free-blueberry-muffins/
These look great! I am going to make these for my hubby since I’m going to be gone this weekend!
I love the color and style of Livi’s swimsuit, she’s going to look so cute in it! Where did you get it? I love the swimsuits from Gymboree, especially the ones that are like rash guards on the top…the coverage is great and they’re SPF 50, perfect for our sunny days in Vegas!
yuck on the bugs. you may want to call the store where you bought it and let them know.
cute on the swimsuit. little kid clothes are so adorable. i’m sure oliva looked darling 🙂
Eww I’ve never seen those bugs on kale before… I hope I haven’t been eating them! I’m going to start inspecting my kale from now on! 😛
I love anything banana, but just hate waiting for the bananas to brown. Especially when my hubby goes through bananas like crazy, so they never have a chance to get brown enough that he’d reject them haha!
Just made the muffins, and altered the recipe a bit:
Used only 2 bananas (all I had)
Used no honey, just 1 tsp of maple syrup
Used about 1/4 cup chic chips
Used 1 cup almond flour and 1 cup Pamela’s GF Baking Mix
I would like to try to make them grain free next time, but love the fluffiness of them!
DELICIOUS!
🙂
They are really moist and delicious!
yayyyyy 🙂 i’m so glad you liked them!
I made the banana muffins tonight and they are delicious!!!
I pinned your banana almond muffin recipe! 🙂