Tropical Banana Muffins

When I first implemented my plan to stop eating most processed food in an attempt to improve my fibromyalgia symptoms, it didn't occur to me that bread might be problematical. After all, what could be in packaged bread other than flour and salt and other, you know, bread ingredients? As it turns out, quite a lot.

If you want an eye-opening experience, grab the nearest loaf of packaged bread in your house and read the ingredients label. This is what I found on mine:

Ingredients in packaged whole wheat bread

Stone ground whole wheat, flour, and water sound reasonable. But what are all those chemicals and why are they in my innocent looking loaf of packaged bread? Maltitol has been shown to cause side effects such as stomach and abdominal pain and diarrhea. In other countries, including Canada and Australia, a mandatory warning label is required on any product that contains maltitol. Dough conditioners (that's quite a list) are not needed in traditional bread-making. The food industry uses them, not because they make the bread healthier and more delicious, but because it makes the manufacturing process faster and cheaper. 

My initial reaction after reading this info was that I was going to have to make all of the bread we ate. My second thought was, "Where in the world am I going to find the time and the energy to do that?"

I was looking for practical ways to recover from fibromyalgia and stay healthy in the toxic environment that surrounds us. Making all of our bread would reduce a whole category of chemical exposure but it certainly didn't seem to be a very practical idea. My dietary goal is to make sure that I eat real food 90 to 95% of the time. I sometimes make loaves of homemade bread and sandwich buns in my bread machine. But that is quite time consuming so I also eat packaged bread. I just don't eat much of it and I make sure that it falls into that 5 to 10% of my daily diet that includes some processed items.

I have found muffins to be the easiest type of bread to make myself. They are quick to throw together. I can make 12 at a time and freeze them for future use. And I can add all kinds of healthy ingredients to muffins like fruit, nuts, ground flax seed, and coconut oil. I eat a homemade muffin every morning for breakfast as part of my healthy eating plan to load my body first thing in the day with foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. 

Here is a recipe for Tropical Banana Muffins that pack a nutritional punch since they include bananas, coconut, almonds, walnuts, coconut oil, and flax seed. 

Tropical Banana Nut Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a muffin tin that makes 12 medium sized muffins.

In a large bowl mix the following dry ingredients and set the bowl aside.

1 cup of unbleached flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

2 T of ground flaxseed. Helpful hint: Ground flaxseed stays fresh for only a few weeks after you open the package. You can grind your own flaxseed as you need it.  But I prefer to buy flaxseed in travel size packets. Each packet holds1 to 2 T depending on the brand you purchase. This helps me to always have fresh ground flaxseed on hand since I only have to open one or two packets at a time depending on the amount I need for a recipe.

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ cup chopped almonds

¼ c chopped walnuts

¼ c grated organic packaged coconut or grated fresh coconut. If you use packaged coconut look for an organic brand that contains only one ingredient: shredded coconut. Most commercially packaged coconut contains artificial dye added to make it whiter and may contain other unhealthy additives.

In another bowl

Mash 2 large ripe bananas. I like to use a pastry cutter to mash the bananas.

Add ¾ cup of raw organic sugar and 1 beaten egg. I use free range eggs in all my recipes when possible.

Put 2 T of coconut oil in a 1/3 cup size measuring cup. Fill the rest of the way with butter. If you are lactose intolerant, add a butter substitute or olive oil in place of the butter.

Melt the coconut oil and butter in the microwave and add it to the banana mixture.

Add ¼ c of almond milk.

Stir all of the wet ingredients until well blended.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until everything is just moistened. The batter will be a little lumpy. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin tin.

Bake the muffins for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Cool in the pan for five minutes.

Run a table knife around the rim of each muffin to loosen them from the muffin tin.

Put the muffins on a wire rack to cool completely.

Put the cooled muffins in a freezer safe bag or container and freeze.

Heat each frozen muffin for 45 to 60 seconds in the microwave. Microwave heating times vary depending on the brand of microwave you use so start with 45 seconds and add time as needed.

Like my new Facebook page

To get more recipes and more information on how I recovered from fibromyalgia and moved toward a healthier life in general, check out my new Facebook page: Practical Healing in Toxic World. 

https://www.facebook.com/practicalhealinginatoxicworld 

The page just went live yesterday.It will contain recipes, tips on chemical free living, fibromyalgia facts, and spiritual encouragement. I will be featuring breakfast recipes on the page this week.