With my son nearing the age of two, play dates have become a common occurrence in my household. Us mamas are all guilty of bringing out the processed and sugary snacks to ‘keep the peace’, and to steal a quiet moment amidst the chaos. While I strongly believe in being flexible by allowing my child to indulge from time to time, I am not wild of the idea of loading his little body with colourants and msg every time he has a friend over. So, on a quest to find something that could easily be served up to little people, in between the playground shenanigans, I decided to get baking.
And with a child who simply loves banana, it had to be my hero ingredient.
I have opted for whole wheat flour and oats instead of white flour in this recipe, for an added punch of nutrients to nourish our growing little monkeys. Ripe banana and honey add in a natural sweetness that bypasses the use of refined sugar. If your child is younger than one, then leave the honey out (the muffins will still be delicious without).
If your child has an egg allergy then substitute chia seeds for egg (1 Tbs seeds soaked in 3 Tbs water for every egg used, creating a gel-like consistency to bind your mixture). If your child has a nut allergy then replace the nut butter with coconut oil or cocoa butter.
This recipe makes for a fantastic warm snack on cold wintery days or the ideal breakfast. Store any left-overs in an airtight container and the muffins will keep for up to 5 days in the pantry. What I also love about this recipe is that it’s something that both moms and kiddies would love, which simplifies your play-date catering dilemmas!
My son went nuts for these muffins: to the point that he kept running back into the kitchen to ask for more ‘kak’…
What you’ll need:
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 3 small ripe bananas (2 large)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup sugar-free peanut butter (Or any nut butter)
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yoghurt
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1.5 cups brown whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup rolled oats
- 1 Tbs cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
Method:
- Preheat oven to 175°
- Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir in the oats, set aside
- Place the bananas in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork (a few lumps are totally fine)
- Add the beaten eggs, peanut butter, honey, yoghurt, vanilla and milk to the mashed banana and stir until well mixed
- Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix together using a hand mixer on a low speed, until well mixed (do not over-mix)
- Grease a muffin tin using spray and cook
- Fill each muffin cup (almost to the top) and place the muffin tray in the oven
- Bake for 15 minutes
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving
- Serve with sliced banana, and/or a spread of butter
Hungry Little Monkey 