Banana Maple Oat Muffins

It has been a long, hot summer here in Umbria so far this year, and although I have made some healthy recipes, I just haven’t had the time to post them. We have had family coming and going throughout the summer which I love, but feeding them all and exploring the countryside has left me with minimal time online. Before my family arrived, I made some baked goods that I froze so I’d have treats to pull out whenever I wanted them without spending family time in the kitchen. When I bake, whether it be muffins, quick loaves, or cakes, I like to ensure they have some nutritional value, so I often switch out regular flour for oat or farro flour. I also like to swap out butter for healthier coconut or olive oil and decrease the amount of oil used in the recipe by replacing some of it with applesauce or yogurt. Another way I try and rebuild my recipes to make them healthier is to use natural sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, date paste, or coconut palm sugar. Although it is tricky to make all these changes in every recipe, you can certainly make at least one change in your recipes.

These quick banana muffins use maple syrup as a sweetener, coconut oil in place of butter, and light farro flour in place of all-purpose. The muffins turned out moist and flavorful, and I made two batches. One batch for the adults I added chopped walnuts and topped the muffins with rolled oats before baking, and for the kids I simply folded in some mini dark chocolate chips.

• Farro flour adds whole grain goodness to these traditional cookies including added fiber and protein. Farro flour is rich in vitamins B and E, fiber, and in magnesium.
• Oats contain a good amount of protein, are high in fiber, and rich in thiamine, folate, B5, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, and manganese..
• Nuts are packed with protein, fiber and essential fats. Almonds are calcium rich and high in vitamin E.
• Bananas are one of our best sources of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function.