Go (Brown) Bananas!

Brown bananas make for the best healthy mini banana muffins.
banana muffins

I don’t know about you, but I cherish brown bananas. Not for my cereal. Not banana splits. Not even for smoothies. I weave the soft, sweet gems into the best banana muffins you’ve ever tasted.

If you buy bananas a lot, you’ve probably noticed that their ripening speed is completely unreliable. Sometimes they last a week, other times, one day. Now it won’t matter. Add my mini muffins to your recipe arsenal and you’ll beg those yellow bunches turn brown. My muffins are super healthy too. Can you believe one slice of regular banana bread (about 3 ounces) has more than 325 calories and 10 grams of fat? That’s like an indulgent dessert. You can enjoy three of my mini muffins (also 3 ounces) for just 174 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. Now that’s a treat! Plus, I make the batter in a food processor so the entire process takes about 3 minutes.

Got a great banana muffin or bread recipe of your own? Please share it!

Mini Banana Muffins

Note: Instead of muffins, you can make one single loaf. Pour the batter into an 8- or 9-inch baking pan that’s been coated with cooking spray and bake 50-60 minutes, until a wooden pick comes out clean.

Cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large, over-ripe bananas
1/4 cup nonfat milk
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 3 (12-cup) mini muffin pans with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix with a fork to combine and set aside.

Place bananas in a food processor and process until mashed. Add milk, egg whites, oil and vanilla and process until blended. Add flour mixture and pulse on and off until just blended (don’t over-mix).

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups (I like to fill the cups all the way up). Bake 10-12 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted into a center muffin comes out clean.

Makes 36 mini muffins
Nutrition Info Per Serving (serving size: 3 muffins/3 ounces)
Calories: 174
Total Fat: 1.5 grams
Saturated Fat: 0 grams
Total Carbohydrate: 37 grams
Sugars: 17 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Sodium: 166 milligrams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Fiber: 2 grams

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