Since earlier this year, I have had to be careful to control my son Michael’s blood sugar levels. Not only does actual sugar cause it to rise, but also white rice, pasta, all purpose flour and such. His pediatrician said that it’s fine for him to have those things once a week and on special occasions, so it hasn’t been that much of a problem. We already ate whole wheat breads and pastas, but we just switched from white rice to brown rice. It’s not that big of a difference in taste, so he is fine.
Since, I make muffins for the boys, I reworked our banana muffin recipe. I used white whole wheat flour instead of unbleached flour. I also used honey instead of sugar. I needed to adjust some other ingredients and cooking times, but the result was great. Even Sean (my ”selective” eater) asked for seconds. Yes!
Healthier Banana Muffins
Yield: One dozen muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 stick of unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp of baking soda
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 cup of mashed, very ripe bananas (Approximately 3 bananas)
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a light coating of butter on the bottom and sides of the muffin pan (or use cupcake holders).
2. In a bowl, mix together the butter (that is at room temperature) and honey.
3. Add the eggs to the butter and honey mixture and beat all three ingredients together well.
4. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt). Combine them with the mixture in the first bowl and blend everything together well.
5. Add the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Stir everything together well.
6. Scoop the batter into the muffin pan and let the muffins bake uncovered for approximately 20 minutes. (When a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, the muffins are ready.)
One thing that I want to note is that the first time I baked these muffins, I didn’t realize that you shouldn’t cover and refrigerate the leftover baked muffins. They were like little bricks the next day(?!) Now, I just bake what I need and freeze the batter. If we don’t happen to eat all of them in one sitting, I simply leave them out on the counter in a covered container. They are perfectly fine for the next couple of days…just so long as you don’t put them in the refrigerator. Learn from my mistake! 🙂
