Foodie Friday — Almost Fat-Free Banana Muffins

My intention last night was to bake and photograph my Almost Fat-Free Banana Muffins, but I had put in about fourteen hours on the computer designing ads for local businesses and I just wanted to eat dinner and watch the results show for So You Think You Can Dance. So, I'm going to share the recipe I developed for my guilt-free muffins with you, but since I have no pictures, I decided I would show you what I typically eat for breakfast around the hut. The pictures are more colorful than the muffins would have been anyway.

The Ingredients

Voilá!

Shellbelle's Almost Fat-Free Banana Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup egg whites or egg substitute
• 1 1/2 cups lightly mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large), should be a little chunky
• 1/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 1/3 cups organic all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup quick-cooking oat bran cereal
  
• 1/3 cup flaxseed meal
• 2 Tbl. wheat germ
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup sunflower seed kernels (optional, adds about 3 grams of fat per muffin)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 12-count muffin pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the brown sugar and applesauce. Beat in the egg whites, vanilla, cream and half of the bananas with the sugar mixture for about 3 or 4 minutes.
3. Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt, spices and baking powder just until the mixture is moistened. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to blend all ingredients.
4. Fold in the remaining bananas.
5. Fill muffin cups to top.
6. Sprinkle sunflower seed kernels on muffin tops, if using.
7. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 25–30 minutes. Muffins are done when the tops are firm to the touch, a golden brown color and the edges are a darker brown. Time will vary according to muffin-cup size and oven type (I have a convection oven, so the cooking time is faster). Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and let cool on a rack.

These are a much healthier alternative to a typical muffin and they got the seal of approval from my teenage granddaughter and her friends.

I hope you will try these muffins and the recipes from other Foodie Friday participants over at Michael's fabulous blog Designs By Gollum. Enjoy!