a healthier chocolate muffin

can a chocolate muffin be healthy?

The whole idea of a healthy chocolate muffin sounds ludicrous.  Doesn’t it?

In my head the word muffin is synonymous with healthy, I know that isn’t true but cupcake is supposed to be the bad boy.  However the only chocolate muffins I have ever had are those ginormous Costco versions that must have more calories than a whole cake.  For goodness sake they are the size of my head, and aren’t particularly tasty either.  Don’t you hate that when you eat something so laden with calories, fat and crap and then feel guilty or ill?  I do.

Today I was craving something chocolaty and portable with a little more food value than a cupcake when I decided to give this a try.  Another problem with cupcakes is that they usually benefit from a little frosting which I was not in the mood for.  This was totally by the seat-of-my-pants baking.

I will let you decide as to the “healthiness” of this confection, but it surely is a better snack than the original, and by original I mean the grocery store version.  I would feel good eating this in the morning.  Besides all that cocoa equals a major boost of antioxidants, yeah!  I can rationalize just about anything.

My train of thought went a little like this, an over-ripe banana means less sugar.  By using the banana, I could reduce the cane sugar content significantly because bananas are just so damn sweet.  There are hints of the banana in the end product, but it is not overwhelming.  Then I used coconut milk kefir in place of the usual dairy.  Kefir is a cultured drink that originated in Eastern Europe/Middle East.  It is usually made with milk, but can be made with most anything including water.  The cultures in kefir are different than yogurt giving you even more benefits, or at least different ones.  Variety is the spice of life good.  Olive oil for the fat is another bonus but coconut oil is also a great option.  I refrain from making things fat-free, we need fat, but good quality fats, besides there is only 2 Tablespoons in the whole batch.  That is like nothing.  Almonds in place of some of the flour provides a nice texture, fiber and extra vitamins or something like that.  I am not a doctor or dietitian, but seems to me that these have to be better for you than the highly refined grocery versions.

Make your own, it only takes 45 mintes start to finish.  Go ahead now.

really chocolaty

chocolate muffins

makes 12

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 to 1 tsp instant espresso powder or finely ground coffee, optional {but it makes the chocolate flavor shine}
• 1 cup all purpose or spelt flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup almond meal or finely ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup coconut milk kefir or substitute yogurt or buttermilk
• turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350°F

In a large mixing bowl bash up the banana, then mix in the sugar until thoroughly combined.  Add the vanilla, olive oil, and espresso powder, if using.

In a smaller bowl combine the dry ingredients.  The flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, baking powder and salt.  Blend with a whisk until well combined.  Alternately pass the ingredients through a sieve.  Mix half the flour into the banana mixture until just combined.  Add the kefir and mix well.  Carefully and gently add the rest of the flour and stir until just combined.  Do not over work the batter.

Add 1/4 cup of batter to each muffin cup.  Sprinkle with turbinado sugar for a little crunch on the top.

Bake for ±20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake.

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Tagged as: banana, chocolate