Skinny Banana Muffins

I think we're due for another "Skinny Muffin", don't you? Judging by the popularity of my Skinny Blueberry Muffins, I'd say people like this kind of thing!

So here's the skinny, on what makes them "skinny". See what I did there? These muffins contain NO BUTTER, and NO OIL. They use bananas and applesauce instead. Also, they are low sugar. The bananas and unsweetened applesauce have natural sweetness, so we only need to add a little extra. I also used a mixture of whole wheat and all purpose flour. You can play with the mixture of flours, and even make them all whole wheat if you want! Each muffin is also LESS than 150 calories!

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen this picture of the huge box of bananas we had:

 My dad counted over 100 bananas in there.  A friend of my parents had their hands on a TON of bananas and was giving away boxes like this to friends. We were lucky enough to receive some, and so I've been planning lots of banana recipes! They were the perfect ripeness for baking.

I used my blueberry muffin recipe as a base for these banana muffins. I only had to tweak a few things to fit the bananas in, and they turned out great! Just like my blueberry ones.

Since I was adding bananas for the flavor and moisture, I let them replace the greek yogurt. There's still applesauce in them for added moisture. 

I actually tried them 2 ways. The first was with greek yogurt and no applesauce, the second with applesauce and no greek yogurt. I felt the applesauce version was just a tad better. The taste wasn't really any different, but the texture was lighter and more moist.

You could use greek yogurt if you don't have applesauce, or even a mixture of both!

I also did the caloric break down for them:

Keep in mind these are approximated numbers and will vary depending on your ingredients.

Applesauce: 105

Sugar: 194

Brown Sugar: 209

Whole Wheat Flour: 225

All Purpose Flour: 670

Egg: 72

Applesauce: 77

Bananas: 200

Total: 1752 Per Muffin: 146

Skinny Banana Muffins Recipe:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 tea. baking powder

1/2 tea. salt

1 egg

2 ripe bananas (mushed, about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tea. cinnamon

handful of walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Makes 1 dozen muffins

Preheat oven to 425 and grease 1 muffin tin.

Mash the banana until there are no large chunks. Mix in the egg.

Add apple sauce and vanilla, and stir until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt, sugars, and cinnamon.

Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry, until just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix-this will result in tough, rubbery muffins.

Scoop into greased muffin tin, (should make 12), and bake at 425 for the first 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes is up, simply lower the baking temperature to 350 (don't take the muffins out yet), and set the timer for another 5-7 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick comes out almost clean (a few crumbs are fine). 

Remove and let cool on a wire rack.