banana oat protein YUMmuffins

thanks a TON, Ogechi!!! a girl after my own heart. she knew i would be geeked over this recipe and she was exactly right. these muffins are great for breakfast or a snack. Ogechi also makes a FANTASTIC black bean/sweet potato soup i can't wait to share with you guys- she brought me buckets of it right after i got home from delivering my son. she is just awesome like that and no you can't have her cause she's all MINE!

Banana Oat Protein YumMufffins (or bread!)

the stuff:

(Dry)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vanilla whey protein
3/4 cup quick oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted walnuts (toasting always makes a difference)

(Wet)

1/4 cup coconut oil (in solid form)
1 whole egg 2 egg whites
2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large bananas)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup chia gel (mix together 9 tbsp water & 1 tbsp chia seeds then wait 10-15mins to turn into gel....it's quite interesting to watch )
1 tsp pure vanilla

do this:

preheat oven to 350 right now. also, go ahead and activate those chia seeds. the chia seeds replace the oil & the butter- neither are used or needed in this recipe!

put them in a small separate bowl and add the water.

measure out all dry ingredients in a bowl MINUS the walnuts. *tip* swirl it around a few times with a whisk to combine & break apart all the ingredients. set aside.

in another bowl, mix coconut oil, eggs, bananas, applesauce, chia gel & vanilla till well combined. here's another *tip*- make sure your wet ingredients are room temperature so your coconut oil doesn't harden on you when you mix them together.

Ogechi told me this stuff made a world of difference in the flavor department for these muffins. i found it in WF and prayed it was worth all 7 dollars. it was.

be sure you buy it in solid form. looks just like hair grease.

keep adding..

my bananas weren't super ripe, but if yours are, mash them all up.

i left my batter a little chunky, of course.

gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients till everything is combined. do not over mix!

fold in walnuts aaaaaaaaaand (optional): 1/4 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips! will do that next time..don't have any right now:(

pour in a greased loaf pan or do muffins. this recipe makes 12 large muffins or 18 medium ones. top with any leftover nuts and bake.

i pulled the muffins out after about 20 minutes- look at those fresh banana chunks.

it was SUCH a beautiful Houston day! we were invited to my friend Joanna's potluck party in the park and the muffins were perfect timing. SO, because we were going to a party, i added some buttercream frosting on top and more toasted walnuts!! otherwise, no party, no frosting. keep them clean.