Healthy Banana Bread Muffins

These literally make me sooo happy. When I was younger, I absolutely LOVED my mom's banana bread. I would probably eat an entire loaf in about three days. But now that I've dedicated myself to a healthier lifestyle, I've realized that there are better ways to enjoy the same foods, but with healthier ingredients. So I did a remake of the recipe my mom usually makes, and they came out wonderfully! They taste pretty darn close to the original, but without any overwhelming amounts of sugar (like the original may or may not have had..!)

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins):

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance natural buttery spread
• 1/2 cup Stevia
• 2 flax eggs* (2 tbsp flax meal + 6 tbsp water)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 + 2/3 cup flour (I used 1 cup oat flour + 2/3 cup buckwheat flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup (one small container) plain Greek yogurt

*Prepare the flax eggs at least 1 hour ahead in order to let the flax absorb the water and thicken up.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine Earth Balance spread and Stevia in a blender, mixing until slightly creamed.
3. Add in flax eggs and vanilla. Blend again.
4. Add in flour slowly, blending as you go, in order to make it easier to mix in. Once flour is mixed in, add in the baking soda and salt.
5. In a separate bowl, combine mashed bananas and Greek yogurt. Stir and mash together until well combined.
6. Transfer banana mixture into bowl with flour mixture. Blend until smooth and creamy.
7. Scoop batter into a lightly greased or paper-lined muffin tin. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes* or until no batter sticks when poked through the center.
8. Let cool for about 15 minutes before removing from tin and serving.

*If you would prefer to make banana bread loaves, place batter into a loaf pan and bake in the oven for about 1 hour.