{Healthy} Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Last time we went to the track I made the fruit and nut muffins, which were great, but I wanted to change it up- so I browsed the Internet for healthy PB banana muffins.  But I didn't think any of them were really on the healthy side.  Either too much oil or all AP flour or ::gasp:: loads of added sugar! So after browsing numerous recipes- I just came up with my own.

This makes 12 muffins.  I was glad to see these rose a bit- the last muffin I made didn't rise as much as I thought- these were less dense.  They weren't heavy but still filling, perfect for breakfast before a big track day or even a workout.  The flavor wasn't like "pow in your face" but the subtle flavor of the banana and then the crunchy peanuts was really nice in this light and fluffy muffin. Really easy too- they aren't fussy at all- I just mix the wet, then the dry then all together, then bake!

Ingredients

Dry Stuff:

• 1/4 cup of flax seeds
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of bread flour
• 1/2 cup of oats
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cinnamon

Wet Stuff:

• 2 bananas
• 2 tbsp of honey
• 1/3 cup of super chunky peanut butter (you can use creamy if you want, just make sure you use all natural peanut butter i.e only 2 ingredients of peanuts and salt)
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp of canola oil
• 2/3 cup of fat free plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp of water (add this if the mixture is too dry)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In one bowl add all the wet ingredients. Mix
3. In another bowl add all the dry ingredients. Mix
4. Add the dry into the wet and mix just until incorporated. 
5. Fill cupcake tins.
6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. When you take out of the oven remove the muffins from the tin and let cool on a cooling rack (otherwise the bottoms get soggy)

Banana "Ice Cream" with Walnuts

I don't know about you, but I LOVE frozen yogurt.  This recipe is easy, healthy and really good.  You do have to do some prep work (aka throwing this stuff in the freezer a couple hours or days prior) other than that the food processor does the work.  This is for one serving.  Some people also claim that just freezing non fat yogurt makes it gritty, but this recipe has a smooth texture and great flavor.  Don't like bananas? How about strawberries, blueberries, mango? How about trying vanilla flavored yogurt etc etc.

Ingredients

· 2/3 cup of non fat plain yogurt, frozen

· 1 banana, sliced and frozen

· 2 tablespoons of walnuts, toasted

Directions

Dry toast the nuts in a skillet for a couple minutes.  Don't let them burn, we are just heating them up a bit.  Throw the yogurt and banana in the food processor and process until smooth. Top with the nuts and enjoy!

Tips: freeze the yogurt in a microwave safe bowl because once it's frozen it is hard to get out sometimes, so just pop in the microwave for about 10 seconds to release it from the bowl.