Healthy One-Bowl Banana Muffins

Ever since making my Morning Glory Muffins and Pumpkin Pepita Muffins, I've been on a healthy muffin kick. My muffins always contain as much fruit as possible and are made with whole wheat and other healthy ingredients.

I try to eat a banana every day as an afternoon snack, but I am also very picky about the state the banana needs to be in. It has to be yellow with no brown on it. That means I would have a lot of food waste on my hands if I didn't do something else with the older bananas. So, I wait for them to get really brown, then peel them and pop them in a baggie in the freezer. Once I've collected enough, I defrost them and make these muffins!

Healthy banana muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/3 cup chia seeds (optional, but I love the extra crunch and nutrients they provide)
1.5 t baking soda
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 5 large bananas, or 1 lb of banana flesh)
1/3 cup yogurt or milk/substitute
1/3 cup oil
2 large eggs (you can omit if you'd like to go vegan. They may not rise quite as much. Be sure to use the flax or chia seeds listed above and add 3 T water)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a 12-count muffin pan* with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients. Fold everything together just until no dry pockets remain. The batter will be very thick. Spoon the batter into liners, filling them heaping full.

Bake for 5 minutes at 425. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. (This initial temperature burst helps it to rise.) Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until no longer squishy in the middle.

*You could turn this into banana bread by making it in a bundt pan. It will take around 40 minutes to cook.