Paleo Dark Chocolate Banana Muffins

Happy Monday Everyone! 

I did some baking with the girls on the weekend as our "baked goods" were getting low and I was struggling with coming up with three snacks a day without resorting to toast, cereal, pre-packed goodies and cookies. And baking is an activity the girls love - it gets messy but its worth it. 

Now that baby is starting to eat solids its getting a little crazy how many different meals and snacks are being prepared in our house. My Paleo Dark Chocolate Banana Bread is the one thing (and probably one of the only things) that all five of us will eat consistently. Yep - even baby likes it. So I decided we would modify the recipe a bit and make it into muffins. Just to change things up a bit - crazy, I know.

Like most Paleo baking it tends to want to stick to the pan so make sure you use liners and don't try taking them out until they are completely cooled or you will lose half the muffin to the liner. I know its hard when they are steaming hot and look so delicious but they cool quickly and you will be eating them in no time. And remove the liner gently - not a job for the kids. 

You will feel good feeding these to the kids since they are full of fruit and almonds with very little sweetener. And if you use 70% dark chocolate they are full of antioxidants. And trust me, the kids will love it. 

And don't forget to try my Paleo Dark Chocolate Banana Bread recipe its amazing!

Paleo Dark Chocolate Banana Bread (makes 12 muffins)

2 cups blanched almond flour (almond meal should work too)

1/2 cup ground golden flax seed

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup agave nectar
3 small ripe banana's, mashed
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (preferably over 70% cacao)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use muffin liners (really).  Combine almond flour, flax, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then add the water, vanilla, agave and mashed banana's - mixing thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake for about 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean in the center. Let stand and cool completely before attempting to get the muffins out of the liners. They do stick a bit so you need to be patient and careful as you get them out.