POWER Muffins (a.k.a. Sweet Potato, White Bean, Spinach + Banana Muffins)

Those of you who aren’t new around here know that my kids love muffins. In fact, when my oldest was a toddler, we called him the Muffin Man, because he ate so many of them. So since then, I’m always looking for a good muffin recipe that is healthy, easy to make, and kid approved. And now that he’s in school and taking nut-free snacks, I am making more muffins that are nut free so he can bring them in. 

These muffins have protein, fiber and vegetables. Oh, and chocolate! What’s not to like? That’s why we call them POWER muffins! 

Power muffins - i crashed the web

POWER Muffins

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 cup sweet potato, cooked and mashed
  • 1/2 banana (about 1/3 cup mashed)
  • 1/3 cup fresh spinach
  • 1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/3 cup avocado oil
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 2 eggs  
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon  
  • 1/3 cup oats
  • 1/4 cup flaxseed
  • 1/2 cup flour (I’ve used white whole wheat and all purpose)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your muffin tin – I use silicone reusable baking cups and spray them with non-stick cooking spray.  
  2. In a food processor, combine sweet potato, banana, spinach, beans, eggs, oil and syrup.
  3. Add cinnamon, oats and flaxseed and mix well.
  4. Add in flour and baking soda and pulse a few times until combined.
  5. Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
  6. Bake muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. 
  7. Cool muffins and then enjoy! I like to keep 6 out and then freeze 6 so I have individual muffins ready to go whenever. I simply take one out of the freezer and defrost overnight OR in the microwave. 

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Seeking a non-healthy muffin? Give these a try instead!

Some questions for you:

  • What do you do with spinach? We just bought a big tub of it at Costco!
  • What’s a healthy-ish recipe you made recently?

Healthyish Banana Zucchini Muffins

My kids love muffins. They always have. And who could blame them? Tiny pieces of cake in a muffin-like single-serving shape? What’s not to like?

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These muffins are sweet enough that my kids call them “treat muffins” (they’re sweeter than my spinach/zucchini/carrot muffins), but healthy enough to be called “healthyish.” They use honey instead of refined sugar, and white whole wheat flour. I also add in half a zucchini for some moisture and added veggies – but these truly taste like just your every day banana muffins! They’re easy to make if you have about 2 bananas on hand, so much that I’ve asked my family to set aside 2 bananas and NOT eat them, just so we can make these. 

healthy banana zucchini muffins - i crashed the web

Healthyish Banana Zucchini Muffins

Here’s what you need:

  • ½ cup honey
  • ⅓ cup avocado oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 large bananas, mashed (mine came out to be a little over 1 cup in volume)
  • 1/2 zucchini, grated – pat with a paper towel to remove excess moisture (Note – I have made these without zucchini and haven’t had to change anything up, they’re still good just no added veggie)
  • ¼ cup almond milk (this is my favorite almond milk; you can use regular milk if you like)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon (my kids love cinnamon, but if you’re not a big fan you can omit this or add in less)
  • 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour  
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • blueberries, optional

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your muffin tin – I use silicone reusable baking cups and spray them with non-stick cooking spray.  
  2. In a large bowl, mix honey, avocado oil and eggs.
  3. Add in the mashed bananas, grated zucchini, milk and vanilla extract. Mix well.
  4. On the side, combine the dry ingredients — the cinnamon, flour, salt, baking soda. Add into the wet mixture and mix until just combined. DO NOT overmix!  
  5. Optional — add in blueberries or other add-ins. Suggestions include dried cherries or chocolate chips 🙂 I added in blueberries to a few of the muffins but not all. If you want to have blueberry (or another add-in) throughout, add in about 3/4-1 cup. 
  6. Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. Bake muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Mine took about 24 minutes.
  7. Cool muffins and then enjoy! I like to keep 6 out and then freeze 6 so I have individual muffins ready to go whenever. I simply take one out of the freezer and defrost overnight OR in the microwave. 

Nutrition info (I borrowed this from MyFitnessPal – I am not a dietician, just someone who likes to bake and make treats sometimes a little healthier, and I can’t claim 100% accuracy)

banana muffins

Seeking a non-healthy banana muffin? Give these a try instead!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you have a go-to muffin recipe?
  • What’s a healthy-ish recipe you made recently?

Too Much Fun Stuff To Do

Wow, this past week into the weekend was filled with too much fun stuff. From ladies’ nights to running to marathon ambassador meetups to celebrations, we were BUSY. But it was all fun, so I can’t really complain? Though, I do feel like I need a day off to recover!

Thursday night was a meetup with the Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors. We met up at Pinstripes for food, fun, drinks and bowling!

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