Fail-Proof Banana Walnut Muffins

I have to admit, I'm feeling a little hypocritical with this post.  It was only a year ago that I was eating vegan and blabbing about how important miso is to your immune system.  The thing is, I have always loved sweets.  Make me choose between the most incredible creamy artichoke dip and a chocolate chip cookie and I will always choose the cookie.  But I also believe that food heals.  No, I'm not talking about how that chocolate chip cookie will fill an emotional void that will then make me feel complete.  I'm talking about the healthy stuff!  The miso, the dark leafy greens, the brown rice.  Eat that stuff!  It's good for you.

Banana Walnut Muffins:

Makes 12 medium-size muffins

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter (one stick), softened

1 egg

1 cup plain or flavored yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups ripened banana, mashed

1/2 cup crushed walnuts

Heat oven to 350F degrees.  Fill a muffin tin with paper liners.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugars, butter, egg, yogurt and vanilla.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Fold flour mixture into butter mixture.  Stir in banana and walnuts until just incorporated.  I use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tin.  Fill to top of paper liner.  Bake 35 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes, then move to wire rack.  Eat for dessert.  And breakfast.  And between meals throughout the day.

My mom gave me this recipe right after I got married.  It's fail-proof.  You can use the basic recipe with any fruit you like.  It's great with apples and cinnamon, sprinkled with raw sugar on top.  You can also make this in a 9x13" pan.  I usual prefer that because I hate washing the muffin tin.  Plus, it's much more difficult to calculate how much you've eaten.

Crispy Peanut Butter Treats with Chocolate Chips

This is my new favorite dessert because it's super easy to make and it totally hits the spot.  They're like rice crispy treats.  It comes from The Kind Diet cookbook.  It's vegan, and it's also considered macro if you leave out the chocolate chips (although I do have some issues with eating something with this much sweetener in it, even though it is the good kind of sweetener).  If you're trying to go macro, I suggest eating it only once or twice a week.

Before I get on with the recipe, I just want to add my 2 cents about grain-sweetened chocolate chips.  As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I don't usually like things that try to disguise themselves as other things.  If I want to eat chocolate, I'm going to eat chocolate.  But then I tried grain-sweetened vegan chocolate chips.  You can usually find Sunspire brand at natural food stores, and Jimbo's sells them in bulk.  They are usually sweetened with barley and corn, but you honestly don't taste any weirdness when you eat them.  I try, for the most part, to avoid sugar because I would rather not have headaches, puffiness and lethargy.  But that's just me.  So next time you go shopping for chocolate chips, give these little morsels a shot!

I'll get into other sweeteners, like brown rice syrup, next time.  For now, you're just going to have to trust me...Everyone I make these for loves them.  Even my sister-in-law, who swears she hates peanut butter.

Crispy Peanut Butter Treats with Chocolate Chips


Makes 9 to 12 squares


1 box brown rice crisps cereal (I usually find the Erewhon brand at Henry's)
1 3/4 cups brown rice syrup
Fine sea salt
3/4 cup peanut butter or almond butter (preferably unsweetened and unsalted)
1/2 cup grain-sweetened, non-dairy chocolate chips

Pour the rice cereal into a large bowl.  Heat the syrup with a pinch of salt in a saucepan over low heat.  When the rice syrup liquefies, add the peanut butter and stir until well combined.  Pour over the rice cereal.  Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Once thoroughly mixed and cooled to room temperature, stir in the chocolate chips.  Make sure the mixture is cool, or you will end up with melted chocolate instead of chocolate chips in your treats.

Turn the mixture out into an 8"x8" or 9"x13" baking dish.  Wet your wooden spoon lightly and press the mixture evenly into the pan.  Let cool for 1 hour in the fridge.  I like to scoop out a bowl-full for snacking on while waiting for the rest to cool.  It's so good when it's still warm!