whole wheat banana oatmeal muffins
Parents today are more excited than ever about providing their children with not just healthy but incredible tasting food choices. We’ve all begun to read the ingredient lists on the back of the boxes in the grocery store snack food aisle and although some companies are trying harder to make healthier products there is no denying that a homemade snack is what’s best for our little ones. With the ongoing chatter about the possible side effects of some preservatives along with a general sense that natural has got to be better, moms and dads are talking more and more about what they want to feed their kids.
Still, even with the best intentions it can be overwhelming to push your cart past those easy snack choices. It might seem far easier to plunk a few boxes of factory made granola bars and fruit snacks into your shopping bags than to grab healthy ingredients and make something yourself. Granted, until you get a bit of a groove going, it might actually seem like and be more work. But making your own snacks for your kids will soon take very little of your free time. Muffins are a great place to start! There’s not much easier in the baking world!
preheat oven to 400°F (200C)
dry ingredients:
2c whole wheat flour
1c rolled oats
1/4c brown sugar
2tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
wet ingredients:
2 eggs (organic, free range, farm fresh if you can get them!)
1/4c canola oil (substitution idea: same amount unsweetened applesauce)
1/4c milk (cow’s milk or soy)
3 medium mashed bananas
what to do:
Combine dry ingredients in one bowl.
Combine wet ingredients in another bowl (whisk the eggs a little first).
Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients in whichever bowl is bigger. Stir just to moisten – it’s going to be a bit lumpy and that’s just fine.
Spoon into greased muffin tins (size of your choosing) about 3/4 full.
Mini muffins: bake for about 12 minutes at 400F
Regular size muffins: bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F
Suggestion: you can add all sorts of things to this recipe to give it a new spin. Try ground flax, wheat germ, blueberries, strawberries, raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and so on!
Suggestion: muffins are an easy enough recipe to let kids join in on the fun. Give them jobs to do depending on their age. Toddlers can stir the dry ingredients while you prepare the wet. Early years school aged children can handle pouring in addition to stirring – and this is a great time to teach them about measurements. Older kids can be be supervised to handle most of the work themselves.
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Yummy!!!
These muffins were good, but I felt like they were missing something…I might try adding vanilla extract next time. The texture was really great though, and I loved the addition of the oats.