Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip w/ Flax Seed

Okay....so say that 10 times fast. :D

I think I need to give some history on this recipe. The original name is "Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins" and is found in the recipe book created for a fundraiser for my daughter's gym (she's a gymnast :D). Anyway, one of my daughter's good friend's mother (follow that?) submitted this recipe for the book. Well, let me say from the first time I made them, they were gone so fast. I continued to make them. Constantly. At least once a week. You know, it's almost shameful to buy bananas so that they get overripe to make these. It became obsession like.

Some changes in our lives made it necessary to adjust the recipe, kick it up a bit, add nutrition while still maintaining the integrity of the recipe. I was afraid. I was petrified. Thinking how am I gonna make this tried and true recipe more healthy.

FIRST...the original recipe as presented by Helen Guzzo in the fundraiser cookbook:

Banana Chip Muffins

1 Egg
1/2 cup Vegetable oil (+1Tbs)
3/4 Cup Sugar
3 Bananas, ripe/mashed
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
3/4 Cup Miniature Chocolate Chips

In a mixing bowl, beat egg, oil and sugar until smooth. Stir in bananas. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix well (I actually sift them together). Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4's full. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until muffins are done (poke with a toothpick in the center and comes out MOSTLY clean). This makes about 24 regular sized muffins.

I dare you to try to wait until they cool before you eat one. I'm betting, like most, you can't.


OKAY...now...the recipe with bumped up nutrition.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins with Flax

1 Egg
1/2 Cup Smart Balance Cooking Oil (+1Tbs)
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Agave Syrup (a low glycemic sweetener found at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, lots of places nowadays)
3 Bananas, ripe/mashed
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Quick Cooking Oats (I like the texture better)
1/4 Cup Flax Seed Meal (if you grind your own, you have to start with about 1/3 cup of flax seed)
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 Cup Chocolate Chips (don't like miniatures! :D)

In a mixing bowl, beat egg, oil and sugar and agave syrup until smooth. Stir in bananas. In a separate bowl sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add oatmeal and flax seed meal and mix well. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill greased muffin cups about 2/3 full (truth be told, I use liners, I don't grease the pan). Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until muffins are done (poke with a toothpick in the center and comes out MOSTLY clean). This batter tends to be more dense, so this makes about 18 regular sized muffins.

Again...I dare you not to eat them all in a day!

The added oatmeal and the flax add protein, fiber and Omega 3 Fatty Acids. Boosting the nutrition in this muffin.

I hope you enjoy! I know we do. So much so, that I cannot add a picture, they just don't last long around here!