Banana Pumpkin Butter Mini Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Posted on February 29, 2016 by Miranda Malisani
8 Comments
My main focus when packing snacks for my two boys is to sneak in some protein, fibre and healthy fats to provide immune system support, keep them regular and support their growing brains.
The right foods keep them focused, full of healthy energy (not the hyper-crazy energy from refined carb snacks) and feel their best so they can learn the most.
Naturally kids love carbs, especially muffins and cookies. They provide quick energy, take no time to scarf down and are often sweet tasting.
Both my boys are no exception, but the muffins and cookies I pack for them are.
This recipe is one of my favourites as it’s quick to make, nutritious and the texture is soft unlike some GF muffins sold in stores
I pump it up with some health-inspired ingredients:
- pumpkin seed butter as just 2 tablespoons provides 10 grams of protein and 30% of your daily iron requirements.
- millet flour as it’s one of the most easy-to-digest grains and it provides B vitamins
- ground flax makes a great substitute for eggs in recipes when you want to amp up anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids. Flax also provides a great fibre boost to these muffins.
I kept this batch free of add-ins, but you can get creative and add cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips, raw pieces of walnuts, cashews or almonds (if you aren’t making this for school) or any diced dried fruit.
Banana Pumpkin Butter Mini Muffins
Makes 24 minis
Ingredients:
2 medium organic ripe bananas
2 tbsp pumpkin seed butter
2 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water (let sit for 5 minutes before adding to bowl)
1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup organic coconut palm sugar
1/4 tsp baking sodar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F
- In a medium mixing bowl mash bananas.
- Add coconut oil (liquid), pumpkin seed butter and ground flax/water combination and stir until combined
- In a separate bowl add millet flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt and stir
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients while mixing.
- Stir until combined
- Add mini muffins liners to mini muffin tin
- Bake on middle rack for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown
I’d love to hear from you if you make an interesting variation!
Miranda <3
Category: Blog, Home Page, Uncategorized Tags: children's nutrition, easy recipes for moms, family nutrition, Gluten free, healthy snacks for kids, millet, mini muffins, muffin recipes, nutritionist, protein muffins, pumpkin seed butter, recipes, school lunch ideas, school safe snacks, Vegan
Will definitely try these!!!
Thank you ❣
Is there a store in Pickering that I can find all of these ingredients?
Tiano’s Market or Loblaws would carry most ingredients.
Hello! I googled millet flour to (a) find out what it is, and (b) find out where to buy it as I couldn’t find it at my usual grocery store. I am not ‘google-crazy’ nor do I believe everything I read online, but some red flags popped up about millet flour, specifically regarding goitrogens & our thyroid. I’m sure we’d need to consume boatloads of millet flour to pose any such concern, but I was just curious as to your input on the subject. Also, can I just use regular whole wheat flour in your recipe? Thanks!
What can be used in place of the coconut palm sugar? Thanks!
Hi Miranda –
Anyone tried using plain pumpkin instead of pumpkin seed butter? and Is there something beside millet flour that is comparable? I have so many different types of flours, and don’t want to buy one more…
Thanks!
Hi Glynis, pumpkin would definitely change the consistency. Brown rice flour may work.
Thank you Miranda for another one of our go-to school-friendly recipes! Both my 5 year old and 18 month old devour these yummy gems!