banana applesauce muffins

I had a great run this morning - 5.68 miles in fact!  Upon recovering and enjoying an almond butter & whey protein shake (recipe coming soon) I felt the call of bananas from the freezer.  Strangely enough they were asking me to make them into some muffins so I decided to give in and answer their call.

I defrosted them, mashed them up and set about looking for a recipe that will fit in with my "new approach" to food.  It's not as drastic nor as scary as it sounds.  Basically, I want to cut back (or cut out) processed foods, decrease the amount of sugar I use, and in general create something that will do two things:
1) Allow me to feel good about eating the product
2) Be a healthy and smart alternative to eating out our purchasing the same type of food (which would go against the idea of processed foods).
This being the case, I decided I'd adapt a recipe I found at All Recipes and create my very own Banana Applesauce Muffin recipe.  I'll share it with you here :)

What you'll need...
1 C. whole wheat flour
1 C. unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt 
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. brown sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 C. thawed, mashed bananas
1/2 C. applesauce 

1 to 2 tbsp. flaxseed (optional)
1/4 C. pecans or your nut of choice

Notes:
*You can do both cups of flour in whole wheat or white - depending on your personal taste.
*Feel free to decrease the sugar to 1/4 C. I think I'll do this next time because the muffins are still extremely sweet.  You can also substitute agave nectar for the brown sugar but that will affect the ratios of wet to dry.  I am just beginning my use of agave so I'll update the recipe when I'm more familiar with it.

First...
Turn your oven to 350°
Mix dry ingredients together and keep in a separate bowl.

Next...
I decided to use my stand up mixer (thanks Grandma) but  you can use a hand mixer or just good ole' wo-man power!  It's always a great work out on the arms. 

Cream butter and brown sugar together.  Once combined, add eggs one at a time and scrape sides of bowl.  Then add bananas and applesauce to the mixture and let it combine. 

Slowly add flour mixture, beating in between each addition to thoroughly combine all ingredients.  Once all of the flour mixture is combined, add in the flaxseed and nuts and mix. 

Then...
Spoon mixture into greased muffin tins (you can use muffin papers if you want but they aren't necessary).  My batch made about 20 muffins.
Make sure to fill any empty spaces in the muffin tins half way up with water so that the tray will bake evenly. 

Finally...
Bake the muffins for about 18 - 20 minutes (depending on the size of your muffins).  I'm weird and like to set a timer for a certain amount and then switch the shelves my muffins are on.  So, after 7 min I flopped the top rack to the bottom, waited another 7 mintues and did it once more time then waited about 5 minutes.  I feel it ensures a more even baking but maybe I'm just crazy ;)
They are done when you slip a toothpick or thin knife into them and it comes out clean.

Well, I hope you enjoy this recipe and that they turn out well for you.  It's a great way to 'slip in' flaxseed (awesome source of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids) to kids if yours don't enjoy it and they are just a handy snack or useful for breakfast-on-the-go.  Try them with a little bit of nutella and you'll never turn back!