Here’s a new one for those bananas that were perfect when you left the house this morning and then completely turned on you! These muffins are perfect to grab and go in the morning and have whole grains to give you the energy you need in the morning, greek yogurt to replace saturated fats from butter, and walnuts for a healthy source of fat to keep you full throughout the day. But I also want to talk to y’all about flaxseed.
So what exactly can flaxseed do for us?? Well for starters it is a great source of fiber, a nutrient that most Americans not to get enough of. Fiber helps aid in digestion and can help make us feel more full. It also contains omega-3 fatty acids, something else that can be hard to get enough of in the diet. Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties and those with higher intakes tend to have a lower prevalence of heart disease compared to those with low intakes. Flaxseed is a plant and therefore it contains something called phytochemicals, and there are too many of them to individually name, but each one has health benefits of some nature. Phytochemicals are essential to have in the diet, meaning we can still function without them. But having them definetly won’t hurt! I recommend ground flaxseed because the shell on the whole flaxseed cannot be digested and our bodies won’t be able to see the benefit of the omega-3s and phytochemicals.
Even if you don’t have flaxseed and don’t want to make a special trip to the grocery store this recipe is still great without it and has plenty of great nutrients to help get you through the day. And if I do say so myself they’re great paired with a cup of coffee. Hope you enjoy!
Here’s your recipe:
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- 3 mashed overripe bananas
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
- 1 Tbs any milk or mild substitute
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup chopped walnut (or choc chips, or both J)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix all wet ingredients in one large mixing bowl.
- Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl (except nuts).
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix.
- Once all ingredients are combined, add in your nuts/chocolate.
- Grease a muffin pan and evenly distribute batter in pan. (Recipe makes 12 muffins)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
