Protein Banana Muffins

I was excited to run this morning. After eating copious amounts of food at church yesterday, a good run was necessary.

I have no idea what this face means.

My hamstring pain came and went over the course of the run. It wasn’t as intense as it was on Saturday, but it did seem to last in longer segments.

I am really going to focus on strengthening it these next few weeks, I really hope that works!

I covered 6 miles in 51 minutes. Definitely not speedy, but I lost a lot speed this winter when I hardly put any miles in and was forced to run slower because of the snow. I know the speed will come back with time, but sometimes I am just too impatient.

Over the weekend, I had a couple of bananas that were on their last leg and needed to be used up. After contemplating what I wanted to make, I decided to develop a new protein “muffin” recipe. I’m happy to report it was a winner!

Banana Protein Muffins

Yield: 10 muffins

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas, mashed

2 – 3.5 oz. containers Chobani Bites Greek yogurt: Caramel with Pineapple Chunks

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 Tablespoons water (or one egg)

2/3 cup oat flour *

1/3 cup vanilla protein powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Make flax egg by combining ground flax and water together in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine bananas, yogurt, and agave nectar in a medium-sized bowl.

3. Add flax egg. Stir to combine.

4. Add flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt to the bowl. Stir to combine.

5. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin. (Note: I used silicone baking cups and did not have any problems with the muffins sticking to the liners.)

6. Bake at 375*F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

* Note: To make oat flour, simply measure out 2/3 cup old-fashioned oats and process in the food processor until completely ground. It should look like regular all-purpose flour.

I was very happy with how these turned out! The banana flavor is spot-on and the added sources of protein help curb my appetite. These are definitely very moist (Sorry, I hate that word as much as you do.)—probably due to the two bananas and yogurt. But I am really digging them. I had two for my morning snack.

This was the Greek yogurt I used. Love this Caramel with Pineapple Chunks flavor by Chobani!

I did make sure to use my silicone baking cups because I was worried they were going to stick to the pan. But I also like the silicone baking cups because they are reusable, and I am not throwing away paper liners.

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