Feed Your Soul: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

I recently perfected what I feel is the tastiest muffin I've ever had. It fills my breakfast needs of being filling, being portable and tasting delicious.

Nothing starts the day off worse then forcing yourself to eat an awful tasting breakfast. I don't know about you but I've downed more awful tasting cereal, breakfast or power bars then I care to admit to. They were convenient and I didn't want to be starving at work. Store bought muffins were tasty, but always much too fattening and sugary, basically they would deplete my energy, not give me the energy I needed. Then I came up with what I've found to be the perfect muffin!

I find it is best to cook these on a lazy Sunday evening, so you are stocked up for the week. Kids have a blast helping cook these as they get to mash up bananas, stir the ingredients, and there's plenty of pouring ingredients into the bowl to help beat their boredom.

Keeping Time

They keep well in the fridge. You can leave them on the counter for about 3 days, but they will last all week if kept in the fridge.

You can also freeze them. Just place evenly and flat in a gallon size freezer bag. They will store a good 2 months.

•Usually I take one out of the bag the night before and let thaw in the fridge overnight.

•Alternately you can just heat up the muffin in the microwave for 30 seconds or less and it's ready to eat if you like your chocolate chips a little more gooey.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

 - 1/3 cup oil (I use soybean oil, you can use olive oil)

- 1/2 cup maple syrup (any pancake syrup that says maple

flavoring in the ingredients is fine)

- 2 TBSP granulated sugar

- 2 eggs, room temperature

- 1 cu packed mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium bananas)

- 1/4 cup milk

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top

- 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour is fine)

- 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top

- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

- 1 tsp granulated sugar, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

1. In a large bowl, beat the oil, syrup and sugar together with a whisk

2. Add the eggs and beat well. Mix in the mashed bananas and milk

3. Add the baking soda, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon and mix

4. Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined

5. Add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels or chocolate

chips and gently fold in. You can really add any ingredient you like here such

as walnuts or dried fruit. It's up to you, feel free to play around with this step.

6. Grease the muffin pan, I prefer to use spray butter. In a

pinch you can use vegetable oil on a paper towel and grease inside the tins.

7. Gently divide the batter evenly into the muffin pan. I

fill a little below the top, you can fill less, just depends how big you want those muffins. I like big ol' tall muffins!

8. Lightly sprinkle a dash of cinnamon to the top of each

muffin, a dash of sugar to the top, followed by a sprinkling of oats to the top of each muffin.

9. Bake for 23-25 minutes. You can either keep these out for

3 days on the counter, or in the fridge for 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Here is a handy printable recipe, just right click the image and select print. Don't worry it's all in black and white.