I cannot be trusted near banana bread. I am blaming banana bread for the 10 lbs (ok… 15 lbs) of weight gain during my semester abroad in Sydney, Australia. Every morning I went to the same coffee shop and the barista knew right when I walked in: “latte and a ba-nah-nah bread?” Me: “How nice of you to remember, let’s make that two slices!” Sighhh. It’s really not even my fault. When I was in elementary school, I would come home all the time to my mom’s chocolate chip banana muffins FRESH out of the oven. She basically trained me from a young age to devour all the banana bread in sight!  Wasn’t it fun to be a kid and not know what a calorie or carb was? Those were THE DAYS. Well, since I’m not planning on giving up banana bread any time soon, I figured it was time to make a healthy, guilt-free version and this one didn’t disappoint! Its sweet, delicious, and secretly packed with fiber and healthy fats. You’ll love it!

Ingredients
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup pure maple syrup or raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk 
1 cup + 2 tbsp almond meal
1/2 cup oat flour
3 tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Optional: 1/2 banana, sliced thinly, for top of muffins

Yields 12 muffins OR 1 loaf
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1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare muffin pan with either cooking spray or liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine all wet ingredients (banana, egg, coconut oil, maple syrup or honey, vanilla, and almond milk). Mix until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients, except chocolate chips.
4. In batches, pour dry ingredients into wet and mix until evenly combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter evenly into cupcake liners or greased muffin pan. 
6. Optional: add sliced banana and a couple chocolate chips on top of each muffin before placing in oven.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden or until a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool before digging in. Enjoy!

Hope you love these muffins as much as I do!