It never fails. I see the bananas sitting in the produce section of the store and my kids and I say, “Yum, bananas! Let’s get bananas.” So I buy a bunch and take them home. Then my kids pester me for the first day or two about wanting to eat the bananas. But of course, it is almost impossible to buy perfectly ripe bananas, so ours are green and we have to wait until we can enjoy them. Then after a couple of more days, no one seems to want to eat a banana anymore. So sitting on the counter are two lonely, very ripe bananas wait for someone to want them.
Today I decided to give my two lonely bananas a purpose and decided to make them into banana bread. Unfortunately, it seems like most banana bread recipes would require you to actually buy bananas and wait for them to become very ripe before you could make the bread, because most recipes call for about four or five bananas. To me, that defeats the whole convenience of a banana bread recipe. The beauty of making banana bread is that it is a way to use up overripe bananas without having to waste them. As for myself, I never have four or five bananas leftover, usually just two. So today when I was looking at the overripe bananas on my counter, I decided that I needed a recipe that called for only two bananas. And while I was at it, I wanted my recipe to have whole wheat flour too. I decided to make my banana bread into muffins because they are easier to grab for a snack or quick breakfast that way. I’m really happy with how the recipe turned out. And my kids love them! But the best part is that now I no longer have two bananas sitting on my counter going to waste!
Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 medium ripe bananas (about 3/4 c.)
1/4 c. oil
1/2 c. natural, unsweetened applesauce
1 c. sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups.
In a large bowl, stir together with a fork the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl, mash the bananas using a fork. Mash until you achieve the texture that you like, can be more lumpy or less lumpy. Add the oil, applesauce and sugar; stir until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the larger bowl of dry ingredients. Using a spoon, stir the wet and dry ingredients together just until they are combined. Then scoop out the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it.
Makes 12 muffins.
Nutritional information per muffin:
187.5 Calories
5 g. fat
trace amount of saturated fat
0 mg. cholesterol
168.5 mg. sodium
36 g. carbohydrates
1.33 g. fiber
20 g. sugar
2.5 g. protein