Banana Nut Muffins – Vegan, GF ,Refined Sugar Free

The reason why I’m in love with baking is simply the smell… Imagine waking up in the morning and smelling freshly baked muffins deliciously spiced and perfectly flavored, the hardest part would be to resist eating the whole batch !

This month I want to dedicate it to baking plant based gluten free treats and eating healthier. In the last couple of months, I’ve been travelling, not working out much and not focusing on my food (I don’t regret it at all!) so now it’s time to get back to routine … I’ve challenged myself to make the healthiest muffins I have done so far, with the intention to just experiment and see how it works, and they turned out much better than expected !

So here’s the first recipe for this month;  Vegan, Gluten Free and Refined Sugar Free Banana Nut Muffins.  Moist, spiced with cinnamon, and enriched with walnuts. I’ve also added some pecans on top to have a salty twist . In the recipe below I will list how I have done it but i will also add alternatives if you want to substitute any of the ingredients especially if you do not have any allergies or dietary preferences ; 

Ingredients (for 12 medium size muffins)

* 1 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill All purpose gluten free flour (or all purpose flour)
* 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
* 3 Medium Bananas mashed
* 1/2 cup Coconut Oil (or Vegetable Oil)
* 1/4 cup Almond Milk (or any other non dairy milk )
* 1 tsp vanilla essence 
* 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or you can use 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup raw cane sugar)
* 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 

Instructions

1.   Preheat oven to 180 degree C and spray the muffin baking pan with non sticky baking spray 

2.   In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon

3.   In another bowl, add almond milk, sugar, vanilla and blend until well combined then add the oil , mix for a minute and at the end add the mashed bananas then continue mixing on medium speed for a minute. 

4.   Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix gently until well combined 

5.   Add the chopped walnuts 

6.   Place batter in the muffin tins , about 3/4 full and top it with nuts of your choice (I added pecans, almonds pumpkin seeds) and bake for 35 minutes approximately

7.    Remove from oven , let it cool for 10 minutes and the muffins are ready 

Enjoy !