Deliciously squidgy oatmeal banana muffins with NO refined sugar, NO fat and NO flour! Enjoy a yummy healthy treat that you can feel great about eating every day!
Let’s take a moment while you pick yourself up off the floor – yes, I, Kerry of Kerry Cooks, this Rainbow Cake, these brownies, and this Brownie PIZZA am bringing you a healthy recipe today!
As difficult as it can be (for me) to accept, I probably shouldn’t be eating cake everyday. We’re all trying to cut their sugar intake and get more veg in. For the past seven or eight months, I’ve been having veg filled smoothies for breakfast with a scoop of protein powder, and trying to stick to healthier snacks like carrots and hummus or a mini babybel.
But I do have a pretty powerful sweet tooth and I think that accepting that may be part of the battle. For the past month or so I’ve been making and freezing these, then taking one out of the freezer each morning before work. By late afternoon – the time when I’m most vulnerable to the biscuit tin at work, I enjoy one of these Sugar Free Healthy Oat Banana Muffins!
These muffins are sweetened by mashed banana and a teeny bit of agarve nectar (5 tbsp sweetens 18 muffins). You can make them with just oats, or add in chopped nuts, raisins, dates etc, according to your preference. It’s a really flexible mixture and it works if you mess around with it!
I add vanilla flavoured protein powder to my muffins so that they keep me full a bit longer, but you could leave this out if you don’t have any or don’t want to use it – we can simply sub in more oats instead.
So REALLY, do these taste like cake? Well, not exactly cake (with no refined sugar, no flour and no fat it would be pretty difficult). But they are genuinely delicious – almost like a banana flapjack muffin!
Oh, and I add dark chocolate chips to mine too. Just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth! I love using these Callebaut Belgian dark chocolate chips, or you can use chopped up chunks of any good dark chocolate. If you prefer, you can leave out the chocolate entirely for truly sugar free muffins, or sub in chopped dates or raisins for a hit of sweetness.
I make a big batch of these muffins every 3 or so weeks and freeze them, then I just grab one from the freezer whenever I need one! You can either defrost in the microwave (yummy warm chocolate chips!), or let them defrost over a few hours.
There are SO many ways to customise these and the basic recipe, which I’ve given below, is really flexible and will still work well if you make changes. I’ve made them lots of times, sometimes using a muesli mix with oats, nuts and seeds instead of just oats, adding in shredded coconut, and adding a bit of melted coconut oil or peanut butter for some healthy fats. Make them your own!
I hope you love these!
- 5 medium, 4 very long or 6 very short ripe bananas
- 500g rolled oats
- 200g vanilla flavoured protein powder
- 150ml water
- 5 tbsp agarve nectar (or honey / maple syrup etc)
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 100g dark chocolate chips or chunks
- large pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- First, prepare two cupcake tins with muffin cases and preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 4/360F.
- Find a large bowl and mash the bananas. I use a potato masher to do this, and once they've started to get squishy, add a couple of tbsp of the 150ml water - it makes it easier! Once they're mushy (there will still be lumps but don't worry about that), add the rest of the water, plus the agarve and vanilla.
- Now, dump on top of that the oats, protein powder (if you're using it) and the chocolate chunks, and stir in the salt and cinnamon. The mixture will be very wet, but don't worry, it's normal! At this point, also add in some nuts, raisins, or anything else you'd like to.
- Next, portion the batter into the muffin cases. I used a large ice cream scoop to do this, and used a whole scoop per muffin, or you can also use a tablespoon.
- Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, until they're lightly browned on top, then remove from the oven and cool completely. Freeze and eat within 3 months.
I’m entering these muffins into the November No Waste Challenge – find out more about the challenge here.
Would you be interested in a few more healthier treats around here?
x Kerry
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Tracy says
November 8, 2015 at 7:55 pmThese sound great – a perfect addition to the no waste food challenge as you can just sub the ingredients for anything hanging around in your cupboard. I especially like the sound of the choc chip version though 🙂
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Jo of Jo's Kitchen says
April 7, 2015 at 10:07 amGreat idea. I am always looking for ways to use up leftover bananas!
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sarah says
April 7, 2015 at 9:08 amthey look lovely kerry. always good to have some healthier bakes around! 🙂
Munchies and Munchkins says
April 6, 2015 at 10:05 pmThese sound and look gooey and delicious. Must try them. I’ve been adapting recipes a lot lately, using different fats and avoiding lots of flours and it’s hard work but I do feel better for it. I still love a good old chocolate brownie though 🙂
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Rachel Vagabond Baker says
April 6, 2015 at 4:34 pmBanana flapjack muffin, yep: I can get on board with that!
I’ve still lost my sweet tooth, since my dabble with dairy-free last autumn, I lost the sweet tooth and it hasn’t come back! I even ate a Ferrero Rocher the other day and disliked it, it was too sweet for me! Eek!
Now, if only I didn’t have a bread tooth 😉
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Kerry Cooks says
April 6, 2015 at 7:30 pmWow! That does happen if you stop eating it for a while! Maybe you could make some less sweet treats?