This for That ~ Banana Blueberry Muffins

One of my kids’ favorite snacks were the Entenmann’s Little Bites Mini Muffins.  We used to go through multiple boxes of these muffins each week.  I thought I was giving them a nutritious and satisfying snack.  After all, they have blueberries in them and blueberries are good for you — right?  During my pantry “cleanse” I reviewed the ingredients in these muffins and they were quickly added to my “find a replacement” list.

I played with a few recipes, made a few tweaks and came up with a delicious little muffin.  You can also add chocolate chips if you want to replicate the Entenmann’s Banana Chocolate Chip Little Bites.  We use Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips, which are dairy, nut & soy free — no one in my house can taste the difference between the Enjoy Life chips and Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips.  The muffins are super moist just like the Entenmann’s mini muffins.  I used to love the Entenmann’s Little Bites because they were convenient and an easy fast snack. With the muffin recipe below, you can double the recipe and freeze what you are not going to use within the week and feed yourself and your family muffins that promote health rather than deteriorate health. Your bananas should be extremely brown, almost to the point when you would throw them away or freeze them. If they are not overly ripe, your bread will not be as sweet and probably not taste as good. If you are using non-ripe bananas, you should add about a 1/3 cup of maple syrup to the batter.

We use WEXY Lunch and Munch Snack Bags to freeze individual servings of muffins, they are biodegradable and BPA Free.  You can put 3-4 muffins in the bag, freeze and grab before you walk out the door.

When consuming grain free baked goods it is important to be careful about how much you consume because most contain large quantities of nut flours. These nut flours contain high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids. While omega-6 fatty acids are good for you, in excess, they can cause problems. It’s a good idea to keep your omega-3 consumption (from foods like organic butter, pastured beef, pastured eggs, raw organic cultured or fermented dairy, fish, etc.) twice as high as your omega-6 consumption to avoid possible inflammation.

This vs. That ~ Banana Blueberry Muffins vs. Entenmann’s Little Bites Blueberry Mini Muffins

Almond Flour, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Cinnamon, Dates, Organic Bananas, Organic Eggs, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Coconut Oil, Organic Blueberries vs. Sugar, Bleached Wheat Flour, Soybean And/or Canola Oil, Eggs, Water, Blueberries, Glycerin, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Cornstarch, Whey (Milk), Natural & Artificial Flavors, Salt, Mono- and Diglycerides, Baking Soda, Sodium Phosphate, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sorbitan Monostearate, Soy Lecithin, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 60, Calcium Sulfate, Calcium Phosphate, Soy Protein, Color.

This vs. That ~ Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins vs. Entenmann’s Banana Chocolate Chip Little Bites 

Almond Flour, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Cinnamon, Dates, Organic Bananas, Organic Eggs, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Coconut Oil, Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Chocolate Liquor (Non-Alchoholic), Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter)) vs. Banana(s) Puree, Sugar, Wheat Flour Bleached, Soybean(s) Oil, Egg(s), Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Dextrose, Chocolate Liquor Processed with Alkali, Soy Lecithin, Vanillin), Molasses, Flavor(s) Natural & Artificial, Corn Starch Modified, Whey (Milk), Dextrose, Water, Fructose, Mono and Diglycerides, Tricalcium Phosphate, Baking Soda, Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Guar Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Xanthan Gum, Soy Lecithin, Sorbitan Monostearate, Polysorbate 60, Calcium Sulphate (Sulfate), Soy Protein, Calcium Phosphate.

This for That ~ Banana Blueberry Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Number of servings: 8

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

This for That ~ Banana Blueberry Muffins

Whole Food. Real Food. Good Food. www.facebook.com/wholefoodrealfood

Ingredients

  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup dates, pitted
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • ¾ cup blueberries or one 10 oz. bag Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
  3. In a food processor, combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and oil.
  4. Add mixture from food processor to dry mixture in the large bowl and combine thoroughly.
  5. Fold in blueberries.
  6. Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin tins.
  7. Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes.

Notes:

Purchase organic ingredients if possible. Your bananas should be extremely brown, almost to the point when you would throw them away or freeze them. If they are not overly ripe, your bread will not be as sweet and probably not taste as good. If you are using non-ripe bananas, you should add about a 1/3 cup of maple syrup to the batter.

Banana Blueberry Muffins/Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
  • 1 Tbs cinnamon
  • 1 cup dates, pitted
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • ¾ cup blueberries or one 10 oz. bag Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to  350℉.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

mix

3. In a food processor, combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and oil.

banana blender

4. Add mixture from food processor to dry mixture in the large bowl and combine thouroughly.

batter

5. Fold in blueberries.
6. Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin tins.

muffins1

7. Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes.

Blueberry Banana Muffins

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11 thoughts on “This for That ~ Banana Blueberry Muffins

  1. Hi Lisa! You can make these muffins with coconut flour and tapioca flour (1 cup coconut flour and 1 cup tapioca flour). You need to use 5 eggs for every 1/2 cup of coconut flour you use. So you would need to use 10 eggs instead of the 3 eggs the recipe calls for. I know this sounds like a lot of eggs, but as a general rule, you need to add approximately 4-6 eggs for every ½ cup of coconut flour you use because the fiber greatly absorbs liquid. I have not tried this so I am suggesting 5 eggs for every 1/2 cup of almond flour you use. Let me know how they turn out!

    Here is some info on Coconut Flour from http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com:
    Coconut flour is naturally low in digestible carbohydrates and contains no gluten. It has less carbohydrates than soy or nut flours, but is high in fiber and a good source of protein. Coconut flour is 4 times higher in fiber than oat bran, 2 times higher in fiber than wheat bran, and 3 times higher in fiber than ground flaxseed. Coconut flour also contains more protein than white, rye flour or cornmeal. It has as much protein as buckwheat or whole wheat flours. Breads made with coconut flour are light and soft and have a wonderful taste and texture.

    According to Purcell Mountain Farms, tapioca flour is gluten-free, dairy-free, wheat-free and low-protein, which makes it a good choice for many restricted diets.

    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/269392-tapioca-flour-nutrition/#ixzz2OBducSno

  2. Julie,
    I just made your Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, and they were really great. Way better than packaged. I had some presentation problems (they were so yummy they fell apart), but the recipe is fantastic!

    Sam

    • Hi Lisa! You don’t want to leave the dates out b/c they are what sweetens the muffin. Instead of leaving them out, I would replace them with something else. Generally, any dried fruit can be substituted for any other dried fruit in baking recipes. As long as the fruit is cut up, sliced or chopped according to the original recipe instructions, any dried fruit can replace any other.

      • Finally got to try this. I used the dates. I used 1 c. Coconut flour and 1 c all purpose gluten free flour and 10 eggs. Using the food processor didn’t work as with 10 eggs it starting spewing. I transferred it to the blender to purée it. Wasn’t sure how the consistency would be but once I mixed it with the dry ingredients, it was fine. I took photos if you won’t to see the consistency of the batter. They were really good.

      • I posted a reply yesterday and now I don’t see it so I’m posting again. I used the dates and instead of almond flour. I used 1 cup coconut flour and 1 c gluten free all purpose flour, with 10 eggs. Worked out fine,

  3. Pingback: Paleo School Lunch Ideas | Whole Food. Real Food. Good Food.

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