Recipe: Whole-Grain Banana Chocolate Chip “Marla” Muffins
This is a favourite in our house – I bet I’ve made them over 100 times. My family loves them, they are 100% whole grain (rare for muffins), and they have less than 2 teaspoons of added sugar. (Compare that to about 9 teaspoons of sugar in a Tim Hortons chocolate chip muffin!) 
Thanks to dietitian Marla Richardson for passing on this great recipe and generous samples when we worked together years ago. To this day, we call them “Marla Muffins,” and when we run into Marla around town, my kids are delighted when I explain that this is Marla of the Marla Muffins.
The recipe makes 12 large muffins, but I prefer to make about 18 small to medium-sized muffins to cut the calories and have more of them to pack into lunches.
Whole-Grain Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Lots of ripe bananas make these moist and sweet (the chocolate chips don't hurt either). They're 100% whole grain and have less than 2 teaspoons of added sugar each.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 4-6 med-large ripe bananas (the more the better)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (or you can use regular)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Put muffin liners in a muffin tray or spray with oil.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mash the bananas well. Add the oil and egg to them and mix well.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the banana mixture. Mix just until the dry ingredients are all moistened.
- Pour the batter into the muffin cups.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Cool before eating, if you can!
Notes
I find this works best with 6 good-sized ripe bananas. If the batter seems too dry, you need more mashed banana. In a pinch, you can add a bit of applesauce.
