Blender Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Easy as a breeze.. wholesome & healthy, these Banana Oatmeal Muffins were the perfect treats to whip up on a lazy afternoon while waiting for my almost 6 yo to come back from school! I had given him a banana and yogurt last three days as an afterschool snack which he ate grudgingly!

This morning he asked me if today was special as it was his first Monday as a First Grader. Of course, I said! I mentally made a note to pick up a chocolate chip muffin that he loves from Wholefoods later that day to celebrate his "special Monday". As I was about to pick up the muffin, the banana muffins caught my eye which reminded me of the two overripe bananas sitting not-so-pretty on my counter. So I came home without the muffin and with the determination to make a newer version of Banana Muffin.. I have made so many!

 

Monday mornings are usually extra tiring as the husband leaves extra extra early for work (4 am today), and however hard I try, I can never be in bed before 11 on Sunday nights.. there's always that one last thing that needs to be done before the week starts! So today by the time I was done with all the morning errands and chores and lunch was done, all I wanted to do was curl up on my bed and read a book or nap! It took each ounce of my energy to haul myself up from the sofa and make these deliciously moist muffins which are oil-free, butter-less and sugar free as well!

 

This recipe from Well Plated by Erin came to the rescue. I just halved the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Oatmeal - 1 Cup (quick cooking or old fashioned)
• Overripe Banana - 1 large
• Greek Yogurt - 1/2 Cup
• Eggs - 1, at room temperature
• Honey - 1 tbsp (the banana added most of the sweetness)
• Baking Powder - 3/4 tsp
• Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
• Chocolate chips - 2 or 3 tbsp (I added chocolate chips to 4 muffins, and chopped walnut to the remaining 2, you can add in your choice of nuts or dried fruits or even blueberries).

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a muffin tin  or line with cupcake liners and keep aside. These muffins tend to stick to the liners so go ahead and grease the liners a little.

Grind the oats to a fine powder (in the blender) and then add everything to the blender except the chocolate chips & nuts and blitz away to glory till you get a smooth batter. Scrape and stir as required. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes. Then gently fold in the mix-ins. 
Divide the batter equally.
Bake for about 15 minutes or till the muffins are done - a toothpick when inserted in the middle should come out clean.
Let the muffins cool down a bit in the pan itself and then transfer to the wire rack to let it cool down before serving. These should stay fresh in an airtight container for 3 days.