Hands up who loves chocolate chip muffins? But how can these be healthy? By using a few crafty substitutes to conventional recipes, you can rustle up these sugar-free & almost fat-free muffins within an hour (If you want these completely fat-free, just add an extra banana for more moisture). A case of having your cake & eating it!

These muffins have widespread appeal as they are so tasty, you wouldn’t even know that they are healthy; a great way of encouraging children & the less health-conscious to eat more healthily! The recipe as it stands is suited for vegetarians & coeliacs, but can easily be adapted for vegans too (details below).

They are highly portable, making them great for breakfast-on-the-go, lunchbox snacks, picnics & as pre-work out energy boosts. They also make super healthy (& cute) alternatives at afternoon tea.

So what are the substitutes?  The sweetness is provided by ripe bananas & dried dates & apple-sauce replaces fat ( which also adds moisture). By using a Pulsin’s sugar-free chocolate drops, the sugar-free status is maintained. These chocolate drops are 72% cocoa, vegan, gluten-free & dairy-free too! They taste like dark chocolate but are not as bitter as cacao nibs, making it more palatable for children.

An optional topping for these muffins, (which I love), are Pulsin’s vegetarian whey protein crispies..they look a little like snow in snowglobes! They are reminiscent of crunchy sugar granules sometimes found on the top of cakes, but these are healthy & not sweet. They are gluten-free, sugar-free, low fat & make a terrific protein-boosting crunchy topping, adding a lovely textural dimension to these muffins. Vegans can opt for puffed rice, toasted almonds or sunflower seeds instead.

These mini muffins are now a firm family favourite; they are moist, with a satisfying bite from the sunflower seeds, walnuts & whey protein crispies & packed with banana, fibre, ground flaxseed, with creamy-richness coming from the cocoa in the chocolate drops. These are much tastier & sustaining than conventional sugar-laden muffins.

The muffins can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free flour & whilst I have used eggs, flax or chia eggs also work (use a tablespoon of ground chia seeds or ground flaxseed soaked in 1/4 cup of water for 10 mins per egg).

Tip: The riper the bananas the better! This is a great way of using up those bananas in the fruit bowl that have turned scarily spotty & or even uniform brown.

Preparation time: 20-25 mins

Baking time: 25 mins

Makes 24-26 mini muffins

Ingredients

4-5 large ripe bananas (the riper the better)

20g (1/8 cup) coconut oil, or Pulsin’s cacao butter buttons, melted

65g (1/4 cup) of sugar-free apple sauce

2 eggs (or chia or flax egg substitute)

180g (1.5 cups) wholemeal self-raising flour or gluten-free flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2tsp baking soda

2 tbsp protein powder (I use Pulsin’ soya  or pea derived. If you have run out, you can omit and use 2 tbsp more of flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup  or 80g ground flaxseed

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

140g (1 cup) of chopped dates (prunes and figs work well too!)

60g (1/2 cup) chopped walnuts (pecans work well too)

35g (1/4 cup) sunflower seeds

60g  (3/8 cup) Pulsin’ sugarfree chocolate drops

Topping: sprinkle liberally with Pulsin’ whey protein crispies (or vegan substitute) & extra sugarfree chocolate drops

Method

Preheat the oven to 170ºC. Lightly grease 2 X 12 hole mini-muffin tins with spray coconut oil. (I have silicone non-stick ones).

In one bowl, mash up bananas using a fork. Mix with melted  coconut oil or melted cacao butter buttons, sugar-free apple sauce, & eggs (or chia/ flax substitute).

In a separate bowl, mix together wholemeal flour, baking powder, baking soda, protein powder (if using), salt, ground flaxseed & vanilla extract.

Gradually mix the flour mix in with the banana mix.

Fold in chopped dates, chopped nuts, sunflower seeds & sugarfree chocolate drops.

Spoon teaspoon portions into the greased mini muffin tins. Sprinkle liberally with whey protein crispies & stud with extra chocolate drops.

(See how cute they look already!)

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool in the silicone tray for about 10 mins before removing & allow to cool on a wire rack.

Allow to cool for 10 mins in the tray before removing onto the wire rack (can you wait that long?!)

Standing to attention!

..and in line!

Enjoy!

Don’t forget you can find my favourite recipes in my FREE eBook here.

Nom nom!

*Variations:

You can add cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon) or coffee (by adding 1 tbsp of ground espresso powder), or cacao & maca powder (use 2-3 tbsp cacao powder) or orange zest for interesting variations.

Pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts, brazils, sunflower & pumpkin seeds also work well instead of the walnuts

Find my favourite recipes in my FREE eBook here.