Magic Muffins (Low-Fat)

Did you ever have one of those days when the sweet cravings were overtaking your diet resolve? I have those days way too often, but most days I can remain in control and do the right thing for my hips.

This was not the case the other day. This is a deadline week for me, which means I can't just pick up and go exploring my new town. Since I don't know anyone here, it also means I'm pretty much cut off from live face-to-face human interaction. So I was feeling a bit lonely and overworked. Something sweet was definitely on the agenda.

Still taking into consideration I was on deadline, I needed something quick, easy and low-fat. I usually keep a couple of mixes on hand in case of last minute company or to satisfy those midnight cravings. Taking a quick assessment of my cupboard, I noticed I had a muffin mix that was quickly approaching its expiration date. Not the chocolate I really wanted, but I do love cinnamon. I also had a few bananas that were past their prime for eating out of hand, but perfect for baking. This was the result:

I also set myself a little snack table. I do try to remain civilized, even though I live by myself. A cold glass of milk completed my mid-day treat.

These plates are so cute and I think my red-striped glasses go great with the polka dots. Does this plate look familiar? Yes, these are the plates I won in a giveaway from our lovely Foodie Friday hostess, Michael. I received these several months ago, but we were preparing to make the move and every room and every surface was covered with boxes, bubblewrap and tape. Let me share their girlie-girl cuteness with you today.

Aren't they just adorable? Thank you again, Michael, I just love them!

Okay, let's move on to today's recipe. Since my figure these days is nothing like the gals on the plates, I didn't want to follow the regular directions on the box with all that whole milk, eggs and oil, so I followed the directions of the low-fat, no-cholesterol version. I substituted fat-free milk, egg substitute and applesauce just like it said. BUT, remember I had those bananas I needed to use? Well, I mashed up two of them and stirred them into the mix also. I wasn't sure if this would make the batter too moist to bake properly, but they were delicious! I poured the batter into a six-muffin jumbo pan and baked them for 25 minutes. Note that I have a convection oven, so your oven may take a bit longer.

I resisted, but another excellent addition to this batter would be a cup or so of Hershey's Cinnamon Chips. Sure you could use chocolate ones, but I would go for pure cinnamon bliss in this case.

This is the mix I started with:

And just in case you want to taste it for yourself, go ahead.

Another plus to this recipe was that my tiny house smelled FABULOUS. Frebreeze needs to come up with a formula that mirrors this one. Since my home is so small, I could take in the aroma of them baking even back in my studio and let me tell you, I was drooling waiting for them to come out of the oven.

Oh, do you want to know why I call them Magic Muffins? I baked them and then they just magically disappeared!

Now get on over to Michael's at Designs By Gollum and see what everyone else whipped up this week. Trust me you'll be glad you did!