Peanutty Banana Oat Muffins

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So today I'm posting a recipe for healthy Peanut Butter Banana Oat Muffins! Basically, it's a combination of the best food-pairings ever.  Kind of like peanut butter on toast, bananas with peanut butter, and oatmeal topped with PB and banana coins.  Yum, right?  As per usual, this recipe required many trials to reach perfection. At least every attempt was a tasty one!

Attempt #1:

     This was a sweet, moist banana bread.  I used 3/4 cup of sugar, and although it was perfectly sweet it could be reduced and replaced with some stevia extract.  I used 1/4 cup of peanut butter and 3 medium bananas, but the bananas overpowered the PB flavor.  I used 1/4 cup of oil so it was nice and moist, but it could probably be reduced in the next batch since I was increasing the PB amount.

Attempt #2:

     I used 1/2 cup sugar in this batch, but it could be reduced even more.  I increased the peanut butter to 6 tbs, but the flavor faded after a few bites and it just turned into regular old banana muffins.  I lowered the oil to 2 tbs and it was still moist!  Since I was going to add more peanut butter, I omitted the oil.

Attempt #3:

     Sadly, these muffins were a little dry without the oil... next time I'll add 2 flax eggs to make it more moist and less crumbly. I think it could have been a little sweeter too, so I'll add more stevia.  Delicious though!

Attempt #4:
     These muffins were nice and sweet, moist and tasty, and best of all, healthy!  The peanut flavor shined, the bananas added sweetness and the flax gave the muffins a nutty background flavor.  I love the crunch of the peanuts and how the bananas both softened and balanced the peanut flavor.

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Muffins:  [high protein, high fiber]

(makes 6 large muffins)

Dry I:

   120g (1 cup) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

   20g (1/4 cup) Whey Protein Concentrate

   96g (1 cup) Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats

   48g (1/4 cup) Sucanat
   1/2 tsp Cinnamon

   1 tsp Baking Powder

   1/2 tsp Baking Soda

   1/4 tsp Sea Salt

Wet:

   320g Bananas (3 Medium, ripe and a little spotty)

   160g (1/2 cup + 2 tbs) Natural Peanut Butter (no sugar/salt/oil added)
   63g (3 tbs) Honey

   1 cup Nonfat Milk
   2 Egg Whites
   1 tsp Vanilla Extract
   1 tsp Stevia Extract

Dry II:
   13g (2 tbs) Ground Flaxseed
   1/4-1/2 cup Peanuts (salted if you wish)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the Dry I ingredients.
3. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, leaving some chunky, then stir in the rest of the wet ingredients.
4. Add the ground flaxseed into the wet mixture, stir, and let sit until the flax thickens a little.
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir.
6. Fold in the peanuts (feel free to add chocolate chips!)
7. Spray a 6-muffin tin with cooking spray, and scoop the batter into each muffin tin evenly. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the edges have browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

     I like how there is no added oil in this... the only major fat source is the healthy, whole peanut butter. These muffins are a great source of fiber and complete proteins. Did you know that peanut butter itself is an incomplete protein? Yes, the jar may say 7g or 8g, but that peanut butter needs to be paired with another food--such as whole wheat flour--to be considered a complete protein: a protein that contains all the essential amino acids needed for growth and repair in the human body. That is why these muffins are so great! The peanut butter + whole wheat flour provides you with all the essential amino acids your body needs to stay alive and healthy.

     Here are the nutrition facts for one muffin with 1/4 cup peanuts in the batch:

These muffins have a low-glycemic index and will keep you full for hours! I had one for breakfast and didn't get hungry for another 4 hours... a world record for my insanely fast metabolism.

Hint: I like to slice the muffin top off, put a tsp of maple syrup and a spoonful of peanut butter on the stump, put the top back on and uh, chomp-chomp-chomp  :)  I love the peanut butter and maple flavor combination!

I'm still in awe that every ingredient in this recipe is a healthy one... enjoy!