I LOVE MUFFINS, I do, but let me tell you that not all muffins are created equally. There’s the type of flour you choose, the wet ingredient decisions, and of course the mix-in options. Since I like to cook/bake seasonally as much as possible, there is no way that my muffins aren’t going to have some Fall flavors shining throughout. This week I chose to do a combination of pumpkin, banana & dark chocolate. Strong heart-healthy ingredients, and even more, I used whole wheat white flour, oatmeal, and almond milk with no butter or oils of any kind. Serve it with a steaming cup of coffee and your morning will be off to a great start!”

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat white flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of cloves or all spice (optional)
1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 large egg + 1 egg white beaten
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 medium mashed very ripe bananas (headed towards very brown-looking)
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (plus a small extra handful for topping)
Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray.
2.) Using a large fork or masher, mash bananas until smooth.

3.) Combine first seven ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

4.) In a smaller bowl whisk together egg, almond milk, pumpkin, vanilla & bananas.
5.) Pour in the dry ingredients and carefully fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
5.) Stir everything together, but do not over-mix. (Over-mixing muffins can create tougher batter and them to bake unevenly.)
6.) Spoon the batter three quarters way up into muffin tin. (I like to use an ice-cream scooper or ladle to create uniform muffins.)

7.) Sprinkle all with additional chips and grate nutmeg over the top.
8.) Bake muffins for 20-22 minutes or until a fork inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Let cool and ENJOY!!!