Just before Easter, I met a close friend for sandwiches at her local Panera. We laughed, talked, and munched our way through the evening, catching up on the past year of our lives. Partway through dinner, Miss W revealed her big plans for a two-week tour of Europe (lucky lady!) and her resolution to lose weight before boarding the airplane.
Although completely motivated to stick to her diet, she eventually confessed that she struggled with breakfast. Because of her long morning commute, she typically ate after arriving at work, but her usual packets of Quaker instant oatmeal just weren’t cutting it anymore. She needed new ideas!
I immediately volunteered to create a recipe for Miss W that was both healthy and portable, so I started making mental notes as we continued chatting.
She wanted to start eating bananas.
She cut out chocolate treats. (What? No! Chocolate is practically an unalienable human right!)
She enjoyed baking and didn’t mind freezing leftovers.
Upon combining these three things, I tinkered around in my kitchen and ended up with these beauties… Banana chocolate chip muffins!
Reheat one of these sweet muffins in the microwave for about 12 seconds, and the chocolate chips start to melt like they’re fresh out of the oven!
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and lightly coat a muffin tin (OR two muffin) top pans with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg whites and vanilla, mixing well. Alternate between mixing in the flour mixture and mashed banana, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in 1½ tablespoons of the chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared tin (OR pans), and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake at 350° for 17-20 minutes (muffins) OR 14-17 minutes (muffin tops). Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
GLORIOUS MUFFIN TOPS. LADY. Fedex me a box? 😀
P.S. I love healthy and portable breakfast treats. Oh my.
Gladly! Now if I can just figure out how to prevent them from staling as I mail the box overseas… ;]
These are the cutest little muffins. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a muffin top tin? What a great idea as that is my favorite part of a muffin. What a sweet friend you are to create a breakfast treat for your friend. I’m sure she made these and loved them.
I like to try and eat healthy at breakfast when I travel as well. I take my 5 minute quinoa cereal and pre-pack it, so all I have to do is add some milk or even water. I also take my quinoa and steel-cut oat cereal and combine all the ingredients in a jar and then just add the 4 cups of water. I only do this one when I’m traveling to a place that has a kitchen. The 5 minute quinoa cereal can actually be made in a hotel room because all you need is hot water and a cup or bowl.
Ok, now my next purchase is going to be a muffin top tin! Thanks for the idea!
xoxo, Jackie
I was so surprised that muffin top tins existed too! I actually just found mine at Ross, so it was fairly inexpensive but still good quality. I’ll be sure to pass along your tips on healthy breakfasts on-the-go; I’m sure my friend will appreciate them!
These muffins are definitely a keeper. Have to find a muffin top tin!
I found mine at Ross. It’s hit-or-miss sometimes whether they’re in stock, but they’re pretty inexpensive and still good quality!
ooh, i can’t wait till Sunday to try those.. yum!
I hope you enjoy the muffins! I couldn’t stop eating them… They were gone in two days!
I can only imagine how tasty these are!!! So cute and perfect on the go!
Thanks! Mine never made it out of the house though… I ate them all too quickly!
Looks delicious! I’m definitely going to have to give these a go!
What’s the Ener-G + 1/4 cup warm water for? Could I just orange juice instead? If so, how much?
Eh. Nevermind… I’ll just stick with egg whites?
!*
The Ener-G + water is a vegan substitute for eggs. I usually write both, just out of habit from when I was vegan! I hope you enjoy the muffins!
These look so good- and for brekky!? Woohoo!
Yup, for breakfast! I’m a huge fan of chocolate and sweets at any time of day. ;]
I love banana-choc chip muffins! Yours look a little lighter and less-dense than the recipe I’ve been using up until now, so I’m giving yours a try next time. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure, I hope you enjoy them! They were really light and airy, with a much better crumb than I expected. So I ate two just after they came out of the oven!
These look awesome, cannot wait to try! Quick question though, how come you can substitute egg whites for Ener-G and warm water ? Just curious.
Ener-G is a vegan egg substitute. 1½ teaspoons of Ener-G + 2 tablespoons of warm water is the equivalent of one egg (or one egg white). Many non-vegans don’t have Ener-G in their cupboards, so I included both in the ingredient list. Hope you enjoy the muffins!