Healthy Banana Oat Muffins

Makes 24 mini muffins

Prep Time 10 min

Cook Time 20 min

Make life simple with these super easy muffins with fresh banana and oats. These would be excellent little treats that are packed with fibre to satisfy your sweet cravings without guilt.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana

• 25g extra virgin coconut oil

• 35g xylitol or pureed pitted dates

• 120g almond milk unsweetened

• 1 Tbsp chia seed

• 2 tsp aluminium-free baking powder

• 120g white spelt flour

• 50g rolled oats

• 1 tsp cinnamon powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly brush 24 mini muffin cases with oil, then line a 24-hole mini muffin tray with cases and set aside.

2. Mash banana in a mixing bowl and set aside.

3. Cover chia seeds with almond milk in a small cup and leave it for 5 minutes.

4. Add chia seeds, almond milk and the remaining ingredients into the mixing bowl. Using a large metal spoon, stir until just combined (don't over-mix).

5. Transfer into the muffin tray and bake for 20 minutes (180°C) or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 1 minute. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

6. Serve immediately or keep in a container for up to a week.

Suggestions

Serving options: Top with sliced banana, blueberries or other fresh fruit.

Nutritional value

• Bananas are an excellent source of potassium and vitamin B6, fibre and carbohydrate, and supply some vitamin C.

• Chia seeds are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, antioxidants and iron. Chia seeds are also high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and protein. All of these nutrients are essential for bone health. Adding chia seeds to recipes will dramatically boost their nutritional value.

• This recipe contains banana, oat, chia seeds that are soothing to the gut due to its high level of soluble fibre that not only lowers cholesterol and increases sense of satiety but normalises bowel function.

Tips:

• Chia seeds are incredibly easy to incorporate into your diet. Because of the ability to absorb both water and fat, they can be used to thicken sauces.

• They can also be mixed with water and turned into a gel as egg substitutes in recipes.

• They can be eaten raw, soaked in juice, added to porridge, pudding, smoothies or added to baked goods.