Good morning from arctic-like Ohio! There were a lot of new faces running around Prevention RD yesterday – welcome! 
I hope your weekend is off to a great start! I don’t know about you all, but this past work week was long and intense! I walked in the door from work last night at 8pm and of course Mr. Prevention’s belly had us retreating back out to the cold for food. I was okay with this because my horoscope specifically said to eat at a restaurant or get take-out yesterday. It was a sign, and I was happy to oblige.
That is until Mr. Prevention rolled up to a diner-style hamburger joint. My initial thought was that there would be nothing, at all, whatsoever on the menu that wouldn’t risk my body imminent cardiac arrest. Alas, I was wrong.
While I feared the salads would be a bed of iceberg offering little nutrition, I opted for a cup of chicken tortilla soup (YUM!) and a grilled chicken salad, mayonnaise on the side (love mayo, but not the amount restaurants use!). The chicken sandwich was on a homemade pretzel roll that was out of this world! And surprisingly, the chicken was very lean and juicy. Hamburger joint dinner…success! And I didn’t feel deprived at all as I did help Mr. Prevention clear off a fry or 3 from his plate 
After a much needed 9 hour hibernation under the covers, I am up and rearing to go today! At least in the kitchen. Reading my next chapter for teaching…vitamins, and then minerals…not so much. But I am afraid that now that my breakfast is made and my veins are surging with peppermint coffee caffeine that may be next on the agenda. Boo hiss.
When I saw these muffins on Heather’s blog yesterday, I knew they were going straight to the top of must-make breakfast items. Vegan baked goods are a favorite of mine (so moist!), and muffins…well, we haven’t bonded in far too long and I pretty much adore all things muffin-like.
Vegan Banana Poppy Seed Muffins slightly adapted from Get Healthy with Heather
3 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/2 1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp chia seed mixed with 2 tbsp water
1 cup heaping cup mashed bananas (3 medium bananas)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with liners, or coat with olive oil spray.
In a small bowl combine the chia seed with 2 tbsp water. Let it rest for 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice. It will gel during that time.
Mix together the oil, apple sauce, syrup, mashed banana and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine the flour, oats, baking soda, sea salt and poppy seeds. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, along with the gelled chia seed. Mix until just combined and spoon into the muffin tins.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Yield: 12 muffins.
Nutrition Information (per muffin): 154 calories; 4.3 g. fat; 0 mg. cholesterol; 101 mg. sodium; 25.6 g. carbohydrate; 3.1 g. fiber; 0.8 g. protein
Result: They taste just like banana nut muffins…without the nuts. 
Heather was right in that you don’t need the 1/2 cup of maple syrup — the sweetness from the bananas and applesauce is plentiful. I love that they are very low in calories and contain healthy fat and fiber. I think they will pair great with a high-protein serving of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt for breakfast next week! Enjoy!
If these muffins don’t tickle your fancy, try one of my other favorites. I deem myself the Muffin Queen!
Apricot-Coconut Bran Muffins
Vegan Acorn Squash Muffins
Carrot, Coconut, and Walnut Muffins
Vegan Banana Nut Muffins
Goat Cheese and Honey-Stuffed Fig Muffins
Vegan Zucchini Bread Muffins
Healthy Pumpkin Banana Muffins
Vegan Fig Muffins
Love me some MUFFINS!
Question: What’s your favorite muffin variety? Have you ever made a vegan baked good! If not, why not!? You’re missing out
Happy WEEKEND!!!
These look delish and I like that they’re vegan. This is the type of thing that I always save those old bananas for.
yum! these look good!!!
and yes, i have tried many a vegan baked good . they are the best!!!
not sure what my favorite muffin variety is . . . maybe banana chocolate chip?
Yummm! Those look SO GOOD! I love muffins, and vegan baked goods are seriously the best. So moist and delicious!
Favorite muffin for me would be pumpkin, for sure.
Yum, this is the perfect way to use up some over ripened bananas! I like stealing fries off my hubby’s plate too
I love vegan baked goods!! My favorite muffins are all vegan… I have a feeling these muffins are going to join the favorites list – they look amazing!!!
Yum. I love the natural sweetness of bananas. I use them instead of sugar in tons of things, like oatmeal. I think I’d add the nuts to these muffins though.
wow…these look fantastic…and such little sugar in them! gotta love that! I don’t have chia seeds…do you think you could sub flax seeds instead?
Thanks again for coming to the rescue yesterday with my nutrition question! I really, really appreciated it!! xxoo STAY WARM!
Intrigued by the peppermint coffee almost as much as I’m intrigued by the vegan muffins.
Bookmarked! =) These look ah-mazing!
OOOH, these look good. My favorite muffin?? Pumpkin muffins (with unhealthy streusal topping!) Have a wonderful weekend.
I am super impressed with your ability to find healthy food at a hamburger joint! I would have been going into anxiety attack mode!
These muffins sound fantabulous. I’m a huge fan of poppy seeds in baked goods and these would be wonderful to wake up to!
Thank you so much for your awesome vegan muffin recipes! I’m in charge of baking muffins (and other goodies) at a private school, and we have a whole bunch of vegan teachers. Your acorn squash muffins were a big hit with vegans and non-vegans alike (and work well made with sweet potatoes or pumpkin in place of acorn squash!), and I can’t wait to try these and some of the others you listed!
That’s wonderful — makes me so happy to hear!
My favorite muffins are my mom’s banana bread muffins! Yummmmm
Unfortunately I was a little distracted when I was making these and left out the canola oil…oops! They are tasty, but I’m definitely going to try them again with all the ingredients.
Yay! So good to see healthy food and whole grains. I’m following!