Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

I'm a snack-a-holic.🤣  What can I say?  I work in my kitchen where food is always at my fingertips - literally. 😅  May has been extra busy and I've gotten in a bad habit of snacking my way through lunch and sometimes even dinner instead of stopping to prepare a proper meal.  A spoonful of stuffed mushroom filling, a handful of leftover pizza toppings or a messed up sugar cookie or two have replaced more meals than I'd like to admit this week. 😬  I like to think of it as market research. 🤣

There are a lot of things wrong with my meal replacement snack strategy - not the least of which is that when 3:00 hour hits - I'm absolutely starving.  This is the time of day that I have an overwhelming need to find extra calories to get me through the afternoon grocery store run or my cookie decorating marathon.   

An afternoon snack isn't necessarily a bad thing but its safe to say, that I don't always make the most sensible, reliable snack choice when I'm under a time crunch.  If I have healthy snacks on hand, I will grab those.  But more times than not, my kitchen counter is filled with cake scraps, biscotti ends and brownie butts while the carrots and hummus is sooo far away in the refrigerator.  😂   #lazysnacker

Keeping a batch of Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins on my counter - within arms reach - was a game changer for this snack-a-holic.  These muffins had just enough sweetness to satisfy my unrelenting sweet tooth and enough protein and whole grains to keep me feeling full - even through the dreaded 3:00 snacking hour.  😂  I think that you're going to enjoy these scrumptious muffins that just beg to be enjoyed slowly with a cup of tea while sitting outside on the porch. 😉  

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 mashed bananas 
2 large eggs
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 Tablespoons oats and raw sugar for sprinkling

Stir together flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Mash bananas in a bowl.  

Stir in eggs, oil, syrup, milk and vanilla to banana.  

Add to dry ingredients and fold together with a rubber scraper. 

Stir in walnuts. 

Spoon into greased muffin tins.  Fill to the top.  

Sprinkle with additional oats and raw sugar.  Bake 5 minutes at 425.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake 15 minutes longer.  

Pizza and beer.🍕 Cookies and milk.🍪  Banana muffins and tea.   All the best food pairings.  With temperatures expected to soar into the 90's in Georgia this weekend, I think I'll opt for iced tea to compliment my muffin. 🧋 
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Ciao!