Easy GF/DF Choc-Chip Banana Muffins

These are easy and delicious. If you have no issue with dairy, you can use butter instead of coconut oil and milk chocolate instead of dark, but the nutrient value and health benefits will be reduced without the dark chocolate.

Good quality dark chocolate is a powerhouse of anti-oxidants (anti-inflammatory), magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, iron and copper. It is also protective against hardening of the arteries and the formation of arterial plaques and has been shown to have positive effects on cancer, PMS, insulin resistance and improved blood flow (Samanta, et al., 2022).

Ingredients:

3 ripe/overripe bananas

3 eggs

80-100g good quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (melt in oven not microwave)

1/4 cup maple syrup (real maple syrup, not maple flavoured syrup, which is absolute rubbish)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

pinch of salt

2.5 cups almond meal

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven to approximately 170℃ (a little less for fan-forced).
2. Pop the coconut oil in an oven safe ramekin to melt.
3. Prepare muffin tins with patty cake moulds or grease the tin with a little extra coconut oil.
4. Roughly chop the dark chocolate (as large or fine as you like) and set aside.
5. Mash bananas.
6. Add eggs, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the mashed banana and stir through until combined.
7. Add almond meal and buckwheat flour and fold through.
8. Add chocolate and combine well.
9. Pop the mix into the muffin trays and bake for 25-35 minutes (depending on how large you have made the muffins). Don’t let them get too dry – they are ready when a skewer comes out clean.

References

Samanta, S. et al. (2022). Dark chocolate: An overview of its biological activity, processing and fortification approaches. Curr Res Food Sci, 5, 1916-1943. doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2022.10.017