Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins -- Healthy Style

Kristi was my little breakfast helper this morning.  One of her all time favorite breakfast foods are mini muffins.  I love to serve hot muffins for breakfast because they allow me to use up little bits of leftovers and can be an incredibly nutritious way to start the morning if they are made with the right ingredients. Today we had a little less than a cup of cauliflower left over from last night's dinner.  We decided to experiment and mash it up with the bananas.  The kids LOVED the muffins.  I love the fact they are whole grain with bananas and cauliflower ... and I have to admit I like the chocolate chips.

A little secret about bananas.  I used to put over-ripe bananas directly into the freezer to be used later to prevent waste.  I didn't use them up often enough because I hated scraping the black banana peels off.  Now when it looks like we have too many I peel them, cut them in half, and put them in a bag in the freezer.  They are the perfect size to pull out and put in a smoothie or use for baking.  There is no extra work so I use them up faster than I can keep them in stock. When bananas go on sale, I buy lots because I know I will use them. I always double the recipe so I can put part of them in the freezer for another meal.  Enjoy Kristi's new little recipe.

Kristi's Banana Chocolate Chip Mini-Muffins

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup non-fat dry milk
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Mix above dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.

• ¾ cup water
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup mashed banana
• ½ cup cooked mashed cauliflower
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 egg

Mix together.  Then add dry ingredients and ¾ cup chocolate chips.  Stir only until moistened.

Pour batter into greased muffin tins.  An ice cream scoop works great for regular sized muffins and smaller scoops are perfect for mini muffins. 

Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes until golden.