Easy, Healthy Banana Muffin Recipe

Do you remember getting sample sets of recipe cards in the mail?  If you liked what you saw, the whole set could be yours for the low, low price of $19.95!  Well, I actually saved some of those recipes.  Of course, I'd never actually tried one, so when I was scrapping my recipe binder (check out "Tales from the DIY Junkyard" post here!), I decided it was TIME!  The company that made them no longer exists, but the muffins I made will forever live on in my memory.  And, you know what?  They were really, really good!  Light, fluffy, healthy, great for breakfast and snack, and don't make a ton (which I actually love!).

Easy, Healthy Banana Muffin Recipe 
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I actually did 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk (I used 1%)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup mashed banana (you could also use blueberries or strawberries)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional - but, I happened to have walnuts, so I added them).  You could also swap in chocolate chips or dried fruit.  

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray
• Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, make a well in the center.
• Mix milk, egg, oil, banana and walnuts in a small bowl.  Pour mixture into well.
• Mix batter just until moistened.  Don't overmix.
• Spoon batter into muffin tin.  
• Bake about 13-15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Tips

• If you don't have a sifter, you can use a colander, depending on the size of the holes.
• To make a well in the center of your dry ingredients, use a large spoon to push the flour, sugar, etc. to the sides of the mixture, making a pit in the middle of the bowl.  It doesn't need to be perfect!
• I like to use an ice cream scooper to spoon my batter into the tins.  
• Eat the muffins within a few days, since fresh banana doesn't hold up well in baked goods for too long.  These muffins are so tasty (delicious with butter for breakfast), this shouldn't be a problem.

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