This weekend, we took a spontaneous trip over to Fort Myers to visit my dad and his wife and spend some much needed quality time with them. When we got back in town, the kitchen was looking pretty sad, as we were down to almost bare bones in the food department. Luckily, I still had a few ripe bananas, some blueberries and a half of a zucchini left in the fridge, so you know I got to baking! These ingredients inspired me to whip up the most delicious Blueberry Banana Zucchini Muffins to start off our week, before I headed out to the grocery store to do my weekly shop.
These muffins are a household favorite around here. My little man already scarfed down two today and would definitely eat more if it was allowed. In fact, I have to remove them out of plain site so that he does not make eye contact with them, otherwise a toddler melt down will definitely be in full effect.
One of the best parts about these muffins, aside from them being delicious, is that I have zero mom guilt when he indulges in them. They are healthy and nutritious, so this momma can feel good about feeding these to my little man. You can eat them for breakfast, along side some protein, or for a little mid-morning or afternoon snack.
Now, let’s talk about what makes them so nutritious:
For starters, they do not have any gluten or refined sugar, so you don’t have to worry about them being highly inflammatory, like most traditional muffin recipes. I used minimal/clean ingredients that your body and taste buds will thank you for :).
As for the flour, I used my favorite, oat flour. You can use oat flour instead of white or wheat flour at a 1:1 swap. Now, I usually always have oat flour on hand, but since I was out of town, and I only had rolled oats available, I simply threw the oats into my high speed blender and pulverized them until they had a flour consistency. Easy peasy!
Next, the star ingredients of course are bananas, blueberries and zucchini. Nothing makes me more excited then finding ways to load up my baked goods, smoothies or meals with as many fruits and veggies as possible, so these muffins are a total WIN in my book!
As far as the sweetener goes, I used pure organic maple syrup. I can not tell you the last time I used white refined sugar or even brown sugar in any of my recipes. Why use a heavily processed sugar when you can use a natural one instead? You could also use raw honey, if preferred.
I did choose to use grass-fed butter in this recipe but you could simply swap this out for unsweetened apple sauce, coconut oil or avocado oil if you wanted a dairy-free option.
This recipe also uses pasture-raised eggs, but you could try and replace this with an egg replacer if you wanted a vegan option. *Although, I have not tested an egg-free version yet*.
I really hope you get make these because once you do, I can promise you that you will want to have these in your home all the time! Comment below or send photos on how they turned out!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free oat flour
- 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted grass-fed butter, melted (could sub coconut or avocado oil, or unsweetened applesauce)
- 2 ripe large bananas
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 large pasture-raised eggs (have not tried egg substitutes)
- 1/2 cup shredded zucchini, liquid drained
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup organic blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin trays with oil or liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour all of your dry ingredients.
- In medium bowl, melt your butter (if using it) in the microwave until melted. Add your mashed banana, maple syrup, eggs, zucchini and vanilla and stir until well combined.
- Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients until combined.
- Gently fold in your blueberries.
- Scoop your batter into muffin tin about 1/2 to 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-25 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool for about 10 mins before removing.
- Enjoy!