On weekdays I leave the house before 7 am to commute to work, and while I used to favour some kind of egg-and-toast combination for breakfast, I simply don’t have the time to coordinate that kind of thing anymore before rushing out the door. Toast and jam just weren’t cutting it – I needed something with a little more nutritional oopmh to start my day. I’ve been reading Christina‘s recent nutrient–packed muffin posts with great interest, and prompted by several rapidly blackening and fruit fly-attracting bananas in my fruit bowl, I came up with these bad boys. I added (quite a lot of) whey protein powder, and used oats (blended in a food processor) and rice flour so they just so happen to be gluten-free (which was a happy coincidence, as my wheat-free Aunt was visiting when I made them). And with only 1/3 of a cup of sugar for 16 muffins, I can honestly say these are probably the healthiest baked good that has come out of my kitchen in, well, a long time.
But don’t be thinking they taste all healthy and crunchy-granola. Kind of the opposite, actually. Sure, they’re a bit flat-looking, but they are moist and actually have a pretty nice texture, and the bananas add a generous amount of natural sweetness. As Nate was packing a few into his lunchbox one morning, I mentioned that they were gluten-free and only contained a little bit of sugar, to which he responded, “Well you don’t have to ruin them for me!”. I take that to mean that their healthfulness was undetectable to the uninformed. 😉
Gluten-Free Banana Protein Muffins
Adapted from Veggies & Me. I used whey protein powder, but I think any kind of unsweetened protein powder could be used instead. Try it and let me know! Makes about 16 muffins.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners, or grease the muffin cups with coconut oil. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse until well-blended and pulverized:
1 cup rolled oats (or use 1 cup oat flour)
Place in a bowl along with:
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup whey protein powder (or other unflavoured/unsweetened protein powder of your choice)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
Whisk to combine.
In a small bowl, mash:
2 very ripe bananas
Mix in:
3/4 cup milk (dairy, soy, almond…)
2 eggs
50 grams coconut oil, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the banana mixture. Fold gently with a spatula until only a few lumps remain – the batter will be fairly liquid-y.
Fill the muffin cups quite full with the batter, then slice up one banana and place a piece on top of each muffin.
Bake in the preheated 350˚F oven for 25 – 35 minutes, until browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the tin and cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container (these freeze well, too). Makes about 16 muffins.
This is the sort of muffin I love to bake up so I can take one on the way out the door.. with the protein in it, it’s a great snack!! Very healthy but yummy at the same time, awesome:)
Yeah, these were perfect to munch on while running out the door 🙂
Awesome Korena! Glad you were inspired by my protein craze (it’s calming down a little, back to more normal foods!).These look so moist and dense, just how I like them. Great idea for the banana slices on top. Did you use Bob’s Red Mill powder? I find it so useful in baking. I tried grinding brown rice for rice powder but obviously not fine enough as the end result was a little gritty.. will try again with these muffins!
Oh they were gritty again! I should have just used wheat flour. Mine were a lot drier than yours, I baked them a bit hotter for only 12 minutes (as I prefer the quick rise creating the high top from the hot oven). So they have lovely high tops but not soft and moist like yours.. My batter was also not as runny as yours – I had to eyeball 50grams of coconut oil as I don’t have scales. Perhaps that was the culprit!
Wow, you are quick! Yes, I used Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flour, and they didn’t come out gritty at all. I’m wondering if I mis-measured the milk…? The original recipe I adapted these from had a much thicker batter as well. Maybe try with more milk? I think 50 grams of coconut oil is about 3 tbsp, if that helps.
I just double checked my measuring cup and I’m pretty sure I did use 3/4 cup milk… What kind of protein powder did you use? Maybe the whey powder doesn’t actually contribute to bulking out the batter, which is why mine was so thin…? I’m just grasping at straws here. I’m sorry yours didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to! 🙁
Just realised Bob’s Red Mill (which I used) is soy protein. Not sure if that would dry them out – probably! Definitely not a fault with the recipe!
How cute is that little banana slice on top. Healthy and delicious, that is my kind of muffin.
These looks super delicious Korena! I have not baked gluten-free yet… will have to try some day. I love the ‘nutritional oomph’ expression! 🙂
Thanks Sibella. I haven’t done a lot of g-f baking, so I was pretty happy with how these turned out! I think g-f can be a good thing for quickbread and muffins because there is no gluten to over-work and you don’t have to worry so much about tough, chewy muffins!
leaving home at 7? oh poor thing… it’s been a while since I was so early… but I am sure these lovely and nutritious muffins are just what you need to give you the energy to go go go 🙂
Hehe, thanks for the sympathy 😉