My last few baking adventures have definitely not been swimsuit-season minded, to say the least. Chocolate cake and lemon bars and snickerdoodles… butter was definitely a theme these past few weeks. Thankfully since my gym is within walking distance of my apartment it hasn’t become an issue… yet. But there’s nothing wrong with nipping things in the bud and making a healthy(er) sweet treat once in awhile.

When I found this recipe I thought “Banana and chocolate… low fat? Sign me up!” yet I was still dubious. So many things claim to be delicious and satisfying yet healthy, and mostly fail. Especially baked sweets. Even as I ate the batter thinking “Wow, this is good…’ I still doubted the outcome. But good God almighty was I proven wrong with these muffins. They’re not only some of the tastiest muffins I’ve ever tried period, they really do only have 165 calories a muffin! I refused to believe it until I did the math myself because they are just. that. good.

The moistness is out of control with the bananas, the sweetness level is just right but not overpowering, and by cleverly using mini morsels and sprinkling them over only the top of the muffins, you get that delicious bit of chocolate, without adding the extra calories. No stand mixer required, too! They really are almost too good to be true…

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Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 12 muffins.

I’ve adjusted for altitude here in my version, so feel free to use the original below.

Based on the recipe from RecipeGirl.

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups mashed ripe banana
• 2/3 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons nonfat yogurt
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup whole grain oat flour (if you can’t find oat flour or it’s expensive, just grind up some oats until they’re fine like flour)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 375 °F with rack set in center of oven. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups and then spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, mix together the bananas, honey, yogurt, applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wheat flour, oat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet, being sure to not overstir.

3.) Pour batter into muffin cups evenly and then sprinkle the ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips over all 12 muffins (not ¼ cup per muffin!). Bake 12-16 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes on a cooling rack and then remove the muffins from the pan to cool completely.

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