Low-Fat Banana Bread Muffins

More often than not, my fruit bowl ends up with one mushy banana. This is not enough bananas to make banana bread. It must be one of Murphy's Laws to only have one banana that is overly ripe and ready for banana bread. I have tried freezing them to save until I have enough bananas to make banana bread. I have tried freezing with the peel still intact and with it unpeeled, but I always end up just tossing them. There something really unappealing about frozen mushy bananas.

One day I was at my local grocery store; I made an amazing discovery. They sell over ripened bananas at a discount. This means I can make banana bread whenever I want, which is usually all the time.

Low-fat Banana Bread Muffins

1 1/3 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/3 cup Oats
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin or apple sauce
2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 Tbs Plain Yogurt or Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla
2/3 cup Walnuts or Pecans, chopped (optional)

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and place papers in muffin tins. 
• Mix flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. 
• In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and the eggs until light and fluffy.
• Mix bananas, yogurt, and vanilla into the large bowl, until well blended. 
• Fold in flour mixture and nuts (if using). 
• Spoon into the papers in the muffin tins. Use a large spoonful but don't fill all the way to the top as these will rise while baking. 
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until all the way cooked through (use the toothpick test). 
• Let cool in muffin tins for about 5 minutes prior to removing. 

Since banana bread is one of my favorite recipes to make, I wanted to make these muffins a bit different than I had made in the past. I am also getting more comfortable trying experiments on recipes. One that I make all seemed like a safe place to try some different ingredients. I wondered if adding the oats would change the consistency of the muffins, it did not.

I had read in a bunch of different places to use pumpkin instead of apple sauce for a different flavor. It ended up being a great substitue, it is mild in flavor and adds more nutrients than apple sauce. Usually when I make my banana bread I do half apple sauce and half canola oil to make it low-fat. I wondered if I just used pumpkin puree and no oil how it would turn out. These muffins were light and fluffy and very moist.

I was glad that I tried different ingredients in these banana bread muffins. It is refreshing to change up old recipes so they seem new and fresh.


Am I the only one who didn't know about the "Banana Bread" banana's that the grocery store sells?

What recipes do you make all the time that you have tried switching up a bit?