Baking with My Son: Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Since becoming a Mom, I have had to learn to do the things I used to do in much less time. This includes things like showering, my hair/makeup routine, cooking and eating. I used to be such a health fanatic, taking the time each week to meal prep and starting each morning with a green smoothie but sadly, that just isn't realistic any more. On the days I work from home, I pretty much NEVER sit down from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed, let alone have the time to whip some fancy up quinoa-flaxseed-hemp-chia nonsense so I eat whatever I can quickly in order to have energy to keep going. And the days I work in the office, I am very rushed in the morning to get both of us ready and out of the door in the time so a lot of the time, I am throwing a protein bar in my purse to eat in the car - NOT ideal. So, after a few weeks of this, I decided it would be helpful to have something healthy on hand that I could grab whenever I wanted a snack during the day or needed a quick bite before running out the door. I definitely have a nasty sweet tooth and could eat pastries for breakfast every day if it wasn't for the fear of ending up on my 600 pound life so the answer to that, is making healthy-ish muffins.

As I mentioned, I never sit down when I'm home with my sweet man. At almost 8 months, he is becoming much more mobile and interested in EVERYTHING he shouldn't (aka why we can't have nice things) so it's a challenge to keep him out of trouble and entertained. This is where our baking days come in -- A few months back, I was tired of bringing out the same old toys and engaging in our routine that we do day after day so I decided he could join me in something that I actually wanted to do and we could make it fun together. I looked up a recipe for healthy banana muffins (since I ALWAYS have ripe bananas on hand), brought out the Ergo Baby, strapped him in and away we went -- measuring, sifting, pouring and singing Disney songs all along. 

He was in the carrier for almost 40 minutes and never made a peep. He was happy with his teether and I think he enjoyed watching all of the action. Not only was this a different way to keep him interested but I was able to bake uninterrupted (I miss those days!) and do something for myself. Enter my new favorite activity: Baking with my son 💗 I hope to make this a semi-regular series, documenting our favorite recipes and time together.

Most recently, we made healthy banana oatmeal muffins. They turned out really well and were perfect for munching on during the day or eating on the way to work.

BANANA OATMEAL MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour 
• 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup packed mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 large bananas)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup) 
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tin with butter or cooking spray or line with liners. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, beat the mashed bananas, eggs, honey, olive oil, and milk. Add the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. Do not over-mix. You can add chocolate chip cookies or nuts at this point, if desired.
4. Divide mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with rolled oats and cinnamon if desired.
5. Bake muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

If you end up making these, let me know what you think! I threw a few chocolate chips in mine towards the end of the batter, because don't they make everything better?

Happy Friday!