Have you ever had a child so picky that he'll dig through his muffins just to eat the chocolate chips, then leave the rest?
Asking for a friend.
But seriously though ... #thestruggleisreal
That's why I got all kinds of crafty with this recipe, which was inspired by the cookbook that came with my beloved Blendtec blender. I’ve been making that original banana chocolate chip muffin recipe for years and it's one of my son’s favorites. The first change I made was to put a few chocolate chips on top of each muffin instead of mixing them throughout the batter — but then I noticed that Evan would only eat the top of the muffin and abandon the rest. So I went back to the drawing board.
I figured that if the muffins themselves weren’t enough enticement to get him to eat the entire thing, I might as well tweak the recipe to make them as healthy as possible so at least my babies and I would get the good stuff. If I could convince Evan to eat up, then that was a bonus. (Like I said ... #thestruggleisreal)
The first thing I did was swap out a few less-than-healthy ingredients for whole-foods, plant-based ingredients. Then I decided that if chocolate chips are the key to getting Evan to eat, I was willing to go with it. So instead of plopping a few big ones on top, I’d mix a few mini chocolate chips throughout each muffin. This way the amount of chocolate is about the same, maybe less even—but since they're small, he can't keep picking through the muffin to find the chocolate chips; he has to actually eat the muffin to eat the chocolate.
VICTORY!!
The result? Fluffy, moist, healthy whole-wheat muffins that my whole family will eat—even my picky eater.
Since this recipe is a conversion of an original Blendtec recipe, I’ve written it out with the regular ingredients and then added the whole-foods, plant-based alternatives in parentheses. And here’s my tip for adding chocolate chips (though if you omit them, this recipe is entirely sugar-free). Rather than adding them to the batter and giving them a quick whirl in the blender, I pour the batter into the muffin cups first, then add a few to each cup and give it a little stir before they go into the oven. This ensures even chocolate chip distribution, because although it’s really fun to get the muffin where all the chocolate chips have settled, it’s not so fun being the mom of the whining child whose muffin is chocolate-less.
CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA MUFFINS
2 eggs (or equivalent plant-based egg replacer)
1 large ripe banana
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup buttermilk (or, mix 1/2 cup plain nut or soy milk with 1/2 tsp vinegar and let sit before adding)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup (or other sweetener of choice)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Optional: mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the eggs, banana, coconut oil, buttermilk, and vanilla in the blender, secure the lid, and blend for about 5 seconds, just to get the banana mashed and ingredients incorporated. Add the honey or syrup, flour, baking soda, and salt, and blend until smooth.
Pour batter into muffin cups, then add a few chocolate chips into each full cup and briefly stir. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing the muffin wrapper.
Makes about 10-12 regular-sized muffins.
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