Banana Oat Mighty Green Muffins (Blender Muffins)
Mar 11, 2021My mom was very into holidays when I was a kid, and St. Patrick's Day was no exception.
She's half Irish, after all.
We'd have corned beef and cabbage, of course, but it was breakfast that really stood out.
St. Patrick's Day meant we run downstairs to check if the leprechaun had touched glasses of milk or juice in the morning (aka she'd put a drop of green food coloring at the bottom of the glass to magically turn our beverage green when pouring).
The amusement evolved into eye rolls as we got older, but she'd always get a kick out of it, regardless of our teenage 'tude.
I racked my brain how I could recreate this delight without green food coloring for the girls. Spirulina was my attempt.
Let me save you the time (as if you were even convinced this was a good idea). It doesn't work. 😆
And blending it would make it look like a smoothie, which is in the business-as-usual rotation. Not exciting.
Conclusion: There are just some things that can't be healthified. Green food coloring drops is one of them.
So I shifted gears to an option that allowed me to use my other favorite magic green ingredient... SPINACH!
Heck, if you can't taste it in a smoothie, you wouldn't be able to taste it in my favorite blender muffins, either.
Lucky me, this test worked out beautifully. Maybe I can convince the girls a leprechaun touched the batter...
They're the perfect texture, slightly sweet, packed with fiber and nutrients, and there's not a trace of spinach flavor to be found.
Not quite the magic of green milk, but pretty dang close.
Banana Oat Mighty Green Muffins (Blender Muffins)
12 muffins
Ingredients
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup greek yogurt (dairy-free can work, too)
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas (the more ripe, the more sweetness!)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey
2 cups lightly packed fresh spinach leaves
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Optional: 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray or use parchment cups. Set aside.
2. Pour oats into a blender and blend the oats are until finely ground (like a coarse flour). Pour them into a medium size bowl, and mix in the dry ingredients: ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
3. In the empty blender, add all remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth. Add oat flour mixture, and blend again until combined. Note: if your blender is having trouble with this part, you can pour it all into a bowl and stir until combined.
4. Pour batter evenly into the muffin slots, filling no more than 3/4 to the top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when you poke one of the center muffins. Let cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes before removing (use a butter knife around the edges if they won't easily come out) and placing on a cooling rack.
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for three days. They also freeze beautifully! Thaw by microwaving on high for 40-50 seconds.
Dairy-free? Use non-dairy greek yogurt.
Egg-free? Mix 2 tbsp ground flaxseed with six tbsp of water until combined, and let sit for 15 minutes to thicken before using.
If you make them, please tag me in your pics (@itskristicarlson) so I can see your masterpiece!
Enjoy! ☘️
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