Whole Grain Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

I buy bunches and bunches of bananas for smoothies every week, a breakfast staple during the school year. Sometimes, I buy extra bananas just so I'll have enough to make banana bread or these Whole Grain Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins as a special breakfast treat or after-school snack. 

I am thrilled that my recipe for these Whole Grain Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins is being featured on iVillage.com today! So hop on over and read my post on 10 Kid-Approved Recipes with Whole Grains to get the recipe along with some easy tips to get kids to try whole grains.

I would love to hear your tips and tricks on getting your kids to eat whole grains.


More Whole Grain Muffin Recipes:

Gluten/Dairy/Egg-Free Carrot Coconut Pineapple Muffins from Jeanette's Healthy Living 
Ginger Peach Muffins from White On Rice Couple
Whole Wheat Apple Muffins from Smitten Kitchen 
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Toasted Almonds from Cookin' Canuck
Blackberry Cobbler Muffins from Manifest Vegan
Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins from Joy the Baker
Peaches and Coconut Cream Muffins from Food for My Family
Gluten-Free Whole Grain Strawberry Muffins from Gluten-Free Goddess
100% Whole Grain Ginger Pear Bran Muffins from Farmgirl Fare
Kim Boyce's Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Muffins from The Wednesday Chef 
Banana Oatmeal Muffins from Guilty Kitchen

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Whole Grain Pumpkin Streusel Muffin Recipe {King Arthur Flour Giveaway}

Whole Grain Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Now that school is back in full swing and fall is in the air, whole grain muffins have made their way back into my boys' breakfasts, as has hot oatmeal. Along with a fruit smoothie, these whole grain choices provide a quick and healthy breakfast, enough to tide them over until lunchtime. 

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Gluten-Free Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts

I am so pleased to be participating in this month's Gluten Free Ratio Rally, founded by Shauna from the Gluten Free Girl, and hosted this month by Meg of GF Boulangerie.

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Simply Tropical Fruits - Papaya and Passion Fruit

Fresh Papaya and Passion Fruit, a Simple Tropical Combination, served elegantly.

We just spent the past few weeks in paradise - on the island of Maui in Hawaii. There's nothing that I look forward to more this time of year than spending some quality down time with my family. No sports, no meetings or appointments, no place we have to be at any time (except for a dinner reservation!). Sunsets over the ocean every night, daily dips in the pool, relaxing and just being still. These are all the things that I am grateful for to help me get rejuvenated before we all return to the scheduled life we start living once school begins. 

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Inspiration and a Tropical Guava Pineapple Banana Smoothie Recipe

It's hard to beat the sunsets in Hawaii.

This summer, we returned to paradise for our family vacation - on the island of Maui (or at least it's as close to paradise as I've been so far!). With our oldest son leaving for college this week, family time has been especially precious, as it is hard to predict how many more family vacations we will be able to share together. I know things will never be the same. We won't see him as often. Our family dynamics will change. Life will be different. But it's all good. It's the cycle of life.

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Homemade Gluten/Dairy/Egg-Free (Vegan) Pancake Recipe

These Gluten/Dairy/Egg-Free Pancakes Came Out Nice And Fluffy.

Since my youngest became allergic to wheat and other gluten-containing grains, I have been on the look-out for healthy gluten-free flours, whether in the store or in catalogs. So, when I flipped through the King Arthur Flour catalog that came in the mail recently and saw that King Arthur Flour now makes gluten-free whole grain flour blends, I was ecstatic!
King Arthur Flour is known for its high quality flours, and sells to both the retail and commercial markets. The company is the oldest flour company in America, founded in 1790, and is an employee owned company - amazing in this day and age for such a well-established company.

King Arthur Flour offers baking classes four different ways: at their facility in Norwich, Vermont, through traveling baking demos, and through self-guided online classes. In addition, the company sponsors a Life Skills Bread Baking Program for children in 4th-7th grade, where instructors teach children how to bake bread. Not only do the children learn how to bake bread, but they take home materials (including whole-grain flour) so they can bake at home. In addition, each child bakes two loaves, one to enjoy for themselves, and the other to donate to a local community organization chosen by the school. All this is done free of charge!

While many people might be familiar with King Arthur Flour's high quality white flour, King Arthur Flour also offers a whole host of whole grain flours, including whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour, oat flour, spelt flour, barley flour, rye flour, pumpernickel flour, as well as whole grain blends (including two gluten-free blends). Although some of these flours are only available through mail order, I'm hoping that they will start selling them in the local markets in the near future.

I used a combination of King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Flour Blends.

There are lots of recipes on King Arthur Flour's site, including a blog where MaryJane Robbins posts recipes using King Arthur Flours. I noticed there were not too many gluten-free whole grain recipes, so this past week, when I received samples of King Arthur Flour's gluten-free flour blends, I couldn't wait to try making some gluten-free goodies.

First up, I was eager to try making some gluten/dairy/egg-free pancakes from scratch as I have yet to come up with any allergy-free pancakes that have really tasted good. I pulled out The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, a wonderful reference cookbook that I have had in my library forever, and used the griddlecake recipe as a guideline.

I decided to use a mix of three gluten-free flours: King Arthur Flour's Multi-Purpose Flour, Whole Grain Flour Blend, and Ancient Grains Flour Blend. King Arthur Flour's Multi-Purpose Flour contains rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch and brown rice flour. Their Whole Grain Flour Blend contains 71 % whole grains: sorghum, brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, millet, and teff, and their Ancient Grains Flour Blend contains millet, sorghum, amaranth and quinoa.

King Arthur Flour suggests replacing 20%-50% of the total gluten-free flour called for in recipes with their Whole Grain Flour Blend, and up to 25% of the total gluten-free flour in recipes with their Ancient Grains Flour Blend. The Ancient Grains Flour Blend absorbs much more water than other gluten-free flours, so a bit more liquid might be needed when using this blend. According to one of King Arthur Flour's test bakers, the Ancient Grains Flour Blend has an "earthy flavor that we've found is complimented by corn, cinnamon, and maple." The ratio I ended up trying was 50% Multi-Purpose Flour, 25% Whole Grain Flour Blend, and 25% Ancient Grains Flour Blend.

To make these homemade pancakes dairy-free and egg-free, my milk substitute of choice was almond milk, although any non-dairy milk would work perfectly (rice, hemp, coconut, soy). I also used coconut oil in place of butter, which gave these pancakes a tropical scent. As an egg substitute, I used a mixture of ground flaxseed and water (1 egg = 1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons water). Since these pancakes are gluten/dairy/egg-free, they are also vegan.

The results...fluffy, light pancakes, not grainy tasting like some I've tried - definitely a keeper!

Homemade Gluten/Dairy/Egg-Free (Vegan) Pancakes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour Blend
• 1/4 cup King Arthur Ancient Grains Flour Blend
• 1/4 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Whole Grain Flour Blend
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 2 tablespoons ground jaggery sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• fresh blueberries, strawberries or other fruit
• maple syrup or honey

Directions:

1. Mix together almond milk, coconut oil, ground flaxseed, and water in a small mixing bowl. 
2. In another bowl, whisk together the three flours, baking powder, sugar and salt.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just blended. 
4. Lightly grease a cast iron pan with some coconut oil. 
5. Spoon pancake batter into pan and cook until bottoms are lightly browned. Flip pancakes and continue to cook until the other side is brown and pancakes are cooked through. 
6. Serve with fresh fruit and maple syrup or honey.

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Easy Avocado Smoothie - Basic and Elegant {Avocado Mousse with Strawberry Puree}

"Hawaiian Lava Flow" Avocado Mousse with Strawberry Puree

Last week, I received a beautifully packaged box of Haas Avocados from California Avocados Direct, a fourth generation avocado family farm located near Valley Center, California.

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Gluten/Dairy/Egg Free Vegan Coconut Pineapple Scones for the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally

Gluten/Dairy/Egg Free Coconut Pineapple Scone with Trader Joe's Mango "Butter"

I am so pleased to be participating in this month's Gluten Free Ratio Rally, founded by Shauna from the Gluten Free Girl, and hosted this month by Lauren of Celiac Teen.

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Gluten/Dairy/Egg-Free Carrot Coconut Pineapple Muffins

Gluten/Dairy/Egg Free Carrot Coconut Pineapple Muffins

Now that we have a gluten allergy in our house, I've been trying to get my arms around gluten-free baking. It's been challenging as there are so many gluten-free flours out there, and I'm not always sure which ones to use. However, my goal in baking gluten-free is to ensure that I pack in as much nutrition as possible.

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Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread with Organic Strawberry Jam

This week as I caught up with a few friends over some Irish Soda Bread and tea, I thought about what my family would eat this Thursday in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.  

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Although I've been baking since I was a child, I'm new to gluten-free baking.

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A Gluten-Free Ancient Grain: Amaranth

Amaranth is a Highly Nutritious Gluten-Free "Ancient Grain"

In my last post, I talked about our recent discovery that my youngest son "A" has numerous food allergies. First I want to thank all of you who have reached out and shown your support and encouragement, as it has reminded me how important family and community are when one is faced with challenges.  Some of you have also shared some terrific suggestions (including introducing me to a whole world of gluten-free/special diet bloggers) for which I am grateful for. If there are any recipes, ingredients, or other information that you think might be helpful, I would love to hear from you.

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Whole Grains for Breakfast {Chai Spiced Quinoa Porridge Recipe}

Chai Spiced Quinoa Porridge

On cold winter mornings, there's nothing like a hot bowl of whole grain porridge to start the day off right.  Whole grains take longer to digest and they release their sugars slowly, so they make you feel satisfied longer.

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The Day After Thanksgiving - Turkey Congee Recipe

Turkey Congee, a Thanksgiving tradition in many Chinese American families

A tradition in many Chinese American households is to make turkey congee (also called "shi fan" and "jook") the day after Thanksgiving. As soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over, a pot of water is put on the stove, and filled with leftover turkey bones (I add carrots, celery, onions, bay leaf and peppercorns for more flavor) to make turkey stock.

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Whole Grains - Steel Cut Oatmeal with Blueberry Compote Recipe

Steel-Cut Oats with Dried Fruit and Blueberry Compote

In the past several years, whole grain foods have been getting a lot of attention. There are whole grain breads, crackers, pastas, and more in supermarkets. What are whole grains and why are whole grains good for you?

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Most of us have probably heard at some point that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  But why?  Here are 7 reasons to start your day off with a healthy breakfast:

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My kids love smoothies.  They're a great way to pack in lots of nutrients in an easy to digest form.  Smoothies are so versatile.  Basically, all you need are your favorite fruits (berries, mangoes, peaches, use your imagination!), yogurt (if you want extra protein), and a liquid (coconut water, orange juice, almond milk).  

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My poor friend "B" is suffering from mouth sores, just over a week after her 1st chemo treatment.  Chemo can cause a number of unpleasant side effects, including a sore mouth and trouble swallowing.  That's why smoothies are great -- they're soothing, smooth, nutritious, and go down easy.

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