Everybody loves banana bread — but a huge, dense loaf of carbs can be intimidating. Think of these little banana chocolate chip muffins as portion-controlled banana bread bites. Sure, they may be in muffin form, but they are every bit as moist and fluffy. You probably won’t taste it, but they’re also better for your waistline. By simply swapping half of the allotted sugar and all-purpose flour content for Splenda and whole wheat flour, not to mention the added health benefits from flaxseed, you won’t feel too guilty if you end up having more than two for breakfast, dessert or a midday snack.

Easy

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Servings: 24 muffins

Ingredients: 

1 cup unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup Splenda
4 ripe bananas
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup wheat bran
¼ cup ground flax seed
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 ½ cups chocolate chips
Optional: ½ cup walnuts, shredded carrots or blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until completely smooth.

mix butter and sugar

Photo by Kirby Barth

3. Mash bananas and add to bowl. Mix well using wooden spoon or rubber scrapper.

mash up banana

Photo by Kirby Barth

4. Add baking soda, both kinds of flour, wheat bran and flaxseed. Mix until lumps are gone.

add flax and wheat bran

Photo by Kirby Barth

5. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and add to batter. Add in chocolate chips and any other optional ingredients.

add chocolate chips

Photo by Kirby Barth

6. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until tops are slightly golden.

DSC_2086

Photo by Kirby Barth