Banana bran muffins with choc chips and peanut butter swirl

 

Good evening! Today I am going to be sharing something that is not sugar filled and decadent, but that is actually a decent substitute for breakfast or lunch if you are short on time. These banana bran muffins are not 'oaty' like some muffins that contain oats or oat bran, and are great to freeze separately so that they can easily be popped in a hand bag before going out for a day. 

While I love baking healthy quick breads and muffins (not that you've heard about any of them so far), I am not the kind of person who has a pantry filled with obscure flours, powders, and sugar substitutes. I don't believe that you should have to pay obscene amounts of money for bizarre ingredients to create something that is healthy, tasty and can be enjoyed on a regular basis. I believe in eating what I want, when I want it, but making sure to observe sensible portion sizes.

These muffins are a happy medium for me, in terms of eating something delicious and healthy, but without having to out of my way to obtain one-time-use ingredients, that will sit forgotten in my pantry until they expire. The only thing in them that might not be a regular pantry item is oat bran, but it can easily be substituted for rolled oats (or rolled oats pulsed in a food processor a few times).

Banana bran muffins

2 C self raising flour (can substitute with 2 cups AP flour plus 2 2/3 tsp baking powder and 2/3 tsp salt)
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 C oat bran
1/3 C brown sugar (or up to 3/4 cup if you like a sweeter muffin. 1/3 cup results in only a mild sweetness)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 C milk
2/3 C natural yogurt (fat free is fine)
60 g (2 oz) margarine, melted
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
Choc chips, optional
12 tsp peanut butter

1. Preheat the oven to 210C/410F and line a 12 Texas muffin tin.
2. Whisk the first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl, then combine the brown sugar, eggs, milk, yogurt, margarine and bananas in another bowl and whisk well to combine. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. If using, add the chocolate chips and use a fork to gently stir everything together. When the ingredients are just combined (a little bit of visible flour is fine), distribute the batter into the muffin tins. 
3. Place a teaspoon of peanut butter on top of each mound of batter, and use a skewer to swirl it in. 
4. Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Don't worry if there is a little peanut butter on the skewer, as long as there is no batter, you're good to go!
5. Cool in tins for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Alternatively, eat while the peanut butter is still gooey and warm. 

Enjoy!