In Which I Bake Muffins

{alicia}

If I had to describe Wednesday in one sentence it would be the path to hell is paved with good intentions.

The plan was to go to the grocery store, come home, press tofu for dinner, and exercise. Instead, I went to Trader Joe’s, dragged myself up and down the aisles, forgot to grab milk, came home, and flopped into bed. Terrible.

Under the guise of being productive, I leafed through the latest Fearless Flyer while watching Downton Abbey. A couple of things:

1) What kind of demand does Trader Joe’s have for gluten-free greeting cards? Why is this even a thing.

2) NEVER Google anything about Downton Abbey. All I wanted to know was who played a particular character, but no, I read a spoiler about the character’s death.

I’m only on season two, but as far as I know, this isn’t a spoilery gif.

I have so much rage about it that I’m this close to spoiling it for everyone else (I kid, sort of).

To atone for my lackadaisical ways, I finally got around to pressing that tofu last night and even baked two different types of muffins. It was kind of cheating because both of them had a banana base. Now, I would share these with Alexis, but she has a genuine hatred for bananas (and all fruit in general).

I had some ripe bananas that were stressing me out, so I pulled up two recipes that I’ve wanted to try: Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffins and Nutella Banana Swirl Muffins from The Novice Chef. I halved these recipes to yield six muffins each.

Admittedly, the blueberry muffins aren’t as attractive as the Nutella (hence being banished to the background of the photo), but I liked having a healthier option. I rather enjoyed the contrast of the sweet, cakier Nutella with the dense and less sugary blueberry muffin (yes, I was alternating bites). If you’re greedy, like me, you’ll make both.

{Vegan Blueberry Muffins}
Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 large, ripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil (I use Trader Joe’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (or more)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon (I added way more)
Note: I’m a sugar fiend and would possibly add a couple drops of Stevia next time. These would also be great with 1/4 cup of chia seeds or ground flaxseed.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 12 cup muffin pan (I used a light amount of coconut oil).
Combine the banana, coconut oil, brown sugar, and oats. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold in blueberries. Pour into muffin tin and bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container or promptly shove into your face.

For the Nutella muffins, I’m going to direct you straight to Jessica’s blog, which is so pretty and delectable, it’s not even funny.