Vegan Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Muffins are one of my favorite things to bake on Sundays.  I just love having little portable snacks to grab on the go throughout the week. I also love having a delicious healthified after-dinner-dessert already made.

I feel like I am finally getting back into my normal routine since moving 2 weeks ago. There was a solid 3 weeks where I just felt off my game. The week before our move, we had boxes all over our place and were using all our free time to get organized for the big move. The weeks following our move were spent unpacking, organizing, cleaning, arranging furniture, rearranging furniture....you know the drill. Needless to say, I was not taking the time to do my usual food prep for the week. My lunches suffered. Is it just me or is there nothing worse than knowing you brought a crappy lunch with you to work? Ugh...the absolute worst! 

This week my food prep was on point and my lunch game is STRONG. So strong. These muffins have a lot to do with that. 

I was not planning on making muffins at all but I had 2 super ripe, almost black, bananas in my fruit basket and before I knew it, I was searching my pantry to see what I had to make muffins. I even snuck a veggie in there! Don't even pretend like you are surprised. 

These muffins are sweetened with just a quarter cup of coconut sugar, so it's SUPER important to use really ripe bananas. I'm talking the bananas you think you should throw away...the almost black kind. Those bad boys are the secret ingredient to the best banana bread. If you are using yellow or slightly spotted bananas, you may want to add a few extra tablespoons of sugar. 

I like to use coconut sugar because it's less refined and has trace amounts of vitamins and minerals. It's also lower on the glycemic index than refined white sugar which means it won't spike your blood sugar as quickly. If you don't have coconut palm sugar, regular ol' brown sugar will work just fine. Having said that, at the end of the day coconut sugar is still sugar and we want to keep our sugar intake in check. All the more reason to use fruit as a natural sweetner. You get the sweetness plus vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber. See where I am going with this? There are definitely better choices when it comes to sugar. The more nutrients, the better. 

I am totally smitten with these muffins. They are moist, tender, wholesome, satisfying, and quite healthy! They are loaded with whole grains thanks to the whole wheat flour and oats and loaded with fiber. They are wholesome enough to be part of a balanced breakfast or snack and sweet enough to be a healthy dessert. Did you ever think you would be eating zucchini for dessert?! Muahaha :) 

Now, go do yourself (and your lunch bag) a favor and make these.  YUM!

Vegan Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Easy, wholesome muffins sweetened with bananas and packed with nutrition. The perfect snack or healthy dessert!

|Makes 12 muffins|

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 Tbsp warm water
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup warmed coconut oil
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 2 medium, very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini (one medium-large zucchini), packed, liquid squeezed out
  • 1/4 - 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or line with muffin cups and set aside. 
  2. Combine flaxseed and water in a bowl and set aside (this creates flax eggs). 
  3. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside. 
  4. In a smaller bowl, combine warmed coconut oil, vanilla, flax eggs, sugar, and almond milk until thoroughly mixed.
  5. Mash bananas with a fork and add to wet mixture. Using paper towels, squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini. Add to the wet mixture and stir until combined.  
  6. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Be careful not to over stir. 
  7. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. 
  8. Enjoy!

xoxo,

Lauren

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