Avocado Banana Muffins!

avocado banana muffin on plate with avocado and banana
The delicious and nutritious avocado. Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Or is it an oil?

The answer is- YES! Avocados grow on trees and have a seed inside (the pit), so biologically they are a fruit. We use them in vegetable salads and they have a more earthy taste rather than sweet, so they are kind of a vegetable in the kitchen. Nutritionally speaking, avocados are a fat/oil. Their high fat content puts them in a category where no other fruits or vegetables exist!

This is why we were able to use a whole avocado in this recipe instead of some of the oil!

The type of fat contained in avocado is a mix of saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fat. Most of the fat content by far is the monounsaturated variety. This means that the fat molecule is bent in one place.

 picture of monounsaturated fat molecule

Monounsaturated fats are known for being anti-inflammatory, which means that they help prevent heart disease, cancer, and many other types of illnesses. Monounsaturated fat can also be found in eggs, nuts (especially walnuts), olive oil, peanuts and peanut oil, and sesame oil.

picture of types of different avocados

There are many different types of avocados. For this recipe, I used Hass. This picture was taken from calforniaavocado.com and you can click on the picture for more information on different avocado varieties.

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 30 minutes    12 muffins

Ingredients:

1/3 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour (or all purpose gluten free flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ripe avocado (medium in size)
1/4 cup oil, preferable avocado, olive, or coconut oil
6 medjool dates (more if using deglet noor or other small variety)
2 tbsp chia seeds
4 tbsp hot water
2 ripe to overripe bananas
1/4 cup milk or milk alternative
1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions:

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350*F
  2. In a small bowl or cup, add the chia seeds to the to water, stir, and let sit
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon
  4. In a small mixing bowl, mass the avocado and bananas
  5. Using a blender or food processor, blend the dates with the oil, then add to the wet ingredients
  6. Add the chia seed mix (chia egg) to the wet ingredients and stir
  7. Add the milk and the lemon juice to the wet ingredients and stir
  8. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated
  9. Spoon mixture into greased muffin tin or bread pan
  10. Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes (1hr, 10minutes for bread pan)