I’ve never liked oatmeal. It was one of those dreary foods I was forced to eat during my childhood: something that I always associated with bad feelings. It was bland, too milky, too goopy, and lacking any substance, so I’ve spent the better part of my life trying to avoid it.
That was until I discovered this new way of eating it. (Surprise, it’s not always gross!)
My sister had the brilliant idea to mash a banana into her oatmeal, giving it a creamy and pudding-like texture, a sweet aftertaste, and a heartier bite. The addition of a pinch of cinnamon (unless you’re like me and dump the whole container of cinnamon into every recipe—it’s just SO GOOD) and a few chocolate chips only made the taste even better and appealing to any sweet tooth. I was thoroughly obsessed and began eating this concoction every day without fail, and I still haven’t gotten bored of it. So I decided that I wanted to take the recipe a little further.
The basic ingredients are almond milk, oats, half a banana, a few chocolate chips, and come cinnamon—the building blocks of what often forms a cake or muffin. All I needed to add to convert this recipe into a muffin was an egg, some baking powder, and some baking soda to give it rise and depth.
And yes, we've all been told to add eggs, baking soda, and baking powder to every baked good, but what do they even do? Eggs acts as leavening agents due to two proteins, albumin and ovalbumin, which produce air bubbles and coagulate during baking, to help provide a more voluminous and sturdy structure. Baking soda also helps to create a fluffy and airy structure by producing carbon dioxide bubbles when it's combined with a liquid and an acid—baking powder. Together, these ingredients are essential to create a rise in many baked goods.
I also wanted to add some peanut powder for a tasty and natural source of protein.
So that’s exactly what I did. With the addition of classic baking leaveners, plus mix-ins like chopped walnuts, this tasty recipe was transformed into an even tastier muffin.
The muffins were fabulous: not too sweet, gritty in all the right places, soft and filling, cinnamon and chocolate infused, and coated with the perfect amount of a sweet glaze. They are the perfect, healthy, on-the-go bite for anyone, and are filling and tasty at the same time. I ate them for breakfast, after a hike, for a snack, or before a workout. The batch was finished before I knew it:)
Of course, this recipe can also be customized to any degree by adding cocoa powder for a chocolate muffin, almond flour for a fudgier texture, honey for a sweeter muffin, cranberries or any sort of mix-in that you like, or anything else! Anything is possible with this SIMPLE recipe and it’s bound to turn out delicious, quick, easy, and healthy.
Some quick tips:
When flavoring your muffins, use spices like cinnamon or nutmeg that invoke the natural sweetness of the spice and enhance the flavor.
If you don’t have muffin wrappers, simply cut out a square of parchment paper and pour the batter into it!
If you want a rich chocolate flavor for your muffins while keeping them healthy, chop your chocolate chips into smaller chunks so there are more pieces and the chocolate melts evenly throughout.
Always let your muffins cool before eating them or they will stick to the wrappings!
Ingredients (makes 5 muffins):
1 cup oats
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1-2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (depending on your taste)
½ cup almond milk
1 overripe banana
3 tablespoons raw peanut powder
1 egg
Chocolate chips
⅓ cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Recipe:
In a blender, combine oats, baking powder and baking soda into a fine powder.
Separately, blend almond milk, banana, peanut powder, and egg together until a smooth consistency is achieved.
Stir these two mixtures together until a batter is formed and add in chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. (I added about ¼ cup of chocolate chips, but you can add however much you’d like.)
Pour batter into muffin tins (about 5 muffins) and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes. (Check with a toothpick every 15 minutes to achieve desired texture for your muffins)
One the muffins are done baking, let cool for 15 minutes.
To make the glaze, melt maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of chocolate chips in a small bowl. Brush this mixture onto the top of each muffin and let cool.
Enjoy!