#HealthyBirdy Protein Banana Chocolate Chip “Muffins”

I made these a couple of weekends ago because I had three bananas that were going seriously brown. My plan at first was to make healthy banana chocolate chip muffins with oats as the dry ingredient base. But when my batter turned out a bit too runny, I decided to experiment with my protein powder, rather than flour (or more oats) to thicken it up.

I LOVE the Arbonne Chocolate Protein Powder because it’s sweet and doesn’t have the chalky flavour that so many other protein powders have. I had a feeling it would be good in this recipe, but I didn’t know they would turn out as good as they did.

Dev rarely ever eats desserts or baked goods, so the fact that he enjoys these is a sign that this recipe is a keeper. He just started a new job and is working very long days with a limited number of breaks. Last week he packed two of these every day and ate them for breakfast. They’re quite filling because of the addition of protein and fibre from the oats, so they helped to tide him over until he had time to break for lunch.

I love that he loves them too because if it were up to me to clean this plate, they would be gone within just a couple of days and I would have serious regret…and a tummy ache.

I also love how easy these are to whip up! Everything gets mixed in one bowl (making cleanup a breeze as well) and takes less than 10 minutes to prep if you’re quick. They take about 18 minutes to bake in the oven, but that’s the easiest part. That’s when you can putter around the house putting away laundry, or sweeping the floors, or washing the dishes left in the sink from last night. Or let’s be honest…you can sitting on your ass sipping on a hot coffee while watching your favourite Netflix series, as the sweet chocolate aromas begin to fill your house.

Now, I used the Arbonne Chocolate Protein Powder because that’s what I have in my cupboard. But feel free to use whatever you have on hand! If you’re not a chocolate fan, use vanilla! The only difference is these “muffins” will turn out less chocolate-y. I use air quotes around the word muffins, simply because I used a square brownie tin to bake these. They’re not the round muffin shape we’re typically used to seeing, but I assure you, these have the exact same texture as a regular round muffin. And again, if you don’t have a square baking tin…use a round one. There are no rules around here (haha pun not intended). Plus everything should taste and go down the same way no matter what it looks like in the end.

Ingredients:

3 Ripe Bananas
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil
3 Cups Quick Oats
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Salt
3 Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder
1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Grease a muffin tin using coconut oil
3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas
4. Crack the eggs into the bowl with the bananas and whisk with a fork
5. Add the milk, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and whisk until combined
6. Add the quick oats, chocolate protein powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and stir until combined
7. Fold in the chocolate chips
8. Fill the muffin tin 3/4 of the way to the top
9. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed clean
10. Let the muffins rest in the baking tin on top of the (turned off) stove for about 10 minutes before removing them and setting them on a drying rack to cool completely

xxx