Skinny Banana Maple Oat Muffins

Today I present to you breakfast perfection. Its not often I can enjoy a dessert as breakfast and be completely satisfied with it's flavor AND nutritional content. These are the optimal loaves to bake when you're looking for something sweet but don't want to indulge.  No matter how healthy I make a dessert, in the back of my mind I'm always bothered by the flour. My banana bread recipe is incredible, and it is definitely a low guilt treat because of it's low sugar and oil content, but the flour is still present.  I experimented with the measurements of that recipe to create this oat version and I'm really happy with the results. Making oat flour is so easy, you'll feel like a baking expert when you try it for yourself!

A wholesome and delicious start to the day

Mornings around here are pretty rushed and this is a great quick breakfast that I feed my family knowing that they're starting the day with a good serving of whole grains, fruit and nuts. I love that these are portable and that they're not too sweet to have on an empty stomach. Enjoy this with a cup of milk and its like eating a bowl of  oatmeal, except as a tastier, baked-good version.  I'm having one as I type with my morning coffee and I feel great about it! I calculated the nutritional information for these babies and they're only about 77 CALORIES per muffin (or 130 calories per mini loaf)!!!! This is without the optional chocolate chips. That's honestly incredible...even with some added sweetness from the chocolate that's still a very low amount! What did I tell you about guilt free?! On that note, please excuse me while I go grab another muffin ;)

You can make these as muffins using a cupcake pan and decreasing the baking time by 3-6 minutes. Start checking them in oven at around 14 minutes for mini loaves and 12 minutes for muffins, as there is no bigger crime than over-baking a sweet treat ;)

Have fun with the mix in options...there are many different creations that can really alter the flavor! You can also swap out half the banana with pumpkin puree for a deeper orange shade and a varied dose of nutrients and taste.

Makes 12 mini loaves (or about 20 muffins)

Ingredients
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-2 eggs
-1/2 cup brown sugar (if not adding any sweet mix-ins you may want to add 1/4 cup more sugar)
-1 tablespoon maple extract (use vanilla extract if you don't have access to maple)
-1/2 cup 0% Greek yogurt
-2 tablespoons pumpkin butter (maple syrup or honey are good substitutes but add 1 teaspoon more cinnamon to dry ingredients to adjust flavoring)
-2 cups mashed banana (about 4 large bananas or 5 medium)

-2 cups whole oats or 1 3/4 cup oat flour (instant oats will grind quicker and yield a smoother baked texture than old fashioned oats, but either work)
-1 1/2  teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
-1 tablespoon flax seeds (optional)
-optional: 1 cup mix ins (I used 1/4 cup pecan pieces, 1/4 cup cinnamon chips, 1/4 cup pumpkin chips, 1/4 cup chocolate chips)

To make
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Creaming the eggs and sugar

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cavities of a mini loaf pan or line with baking cups.
Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and maple extract (or vanilla) for about 5 minutes on high speed, until fluffy and golden.
-While the eggs are whisking, in a food processor combine 2 cups oats and grind until they are a fine powder, also about 5 minutes. If you want a super fine texture you can sift the oat flour, but I don't do this because I like the addition the small bits of oats add.  Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Pulse in your food processor together until well incorporated.
-Once the eggs have finished whisking, turn the mixer off and with a spatula gently stir in Greek yogurt, pumpkin butter and mashed banana (another easy way to mash the bananas is to transfer the oat mixture to a clean bowl and then place the bananas in the food processor and puree. Once completely smooth, I add the Greek yogurt and pumpkin butter then pulse until well mixed. Then I gently stir the banana mixture into the whipped eggs and mix it with a spatula).
-Add the dry ingredients and optional flax seeds to the wet mixture, mixing with a spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened.  Do not overmix, as this will cause the batter to become dry as it bakes.
-Add your desired mix ins and scoop 1/3 cup of batter into each mini loaf pan (fill about 3/4 of the cavity). I pressed one chocolate chip into the center of each mini loaf and sprinkled flax seeds on top of some of them.
-Place pan into the lower rack of your preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached. These will firm up a bit more as they cool down (Baking range for muffins in a cupcake pan is about 13-17 minutes). My loaves were perfect at 14 minutes (and muffins at 15).
-Serve hot or room temperature and enjoy!

In case you missed the instagram video of my little helper grinding oat flour

Ready to hit the oven

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Sending a thank-you treat to my daughter's teacher