Healthy, low-calorie Apple Banana Muffins! Step-by-Step Recipe

Hey everyone! I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being stuck at home has probably started to get to even the strongest person’s sanity and if cabin fever hasn’t set in yet then I need to know your secret. What I’ve noticed, especially by the looks of the shelves in stores in South Africa, is that everyone seems to be using all the home-time to bake and try out new recipes. Now that may sound awesome, because who doesn’t love a house that smells like a bakery and fresh treats to try out all the time, but unfortunately, it’s not all good. While baking may have delicious results, the high sugar and high calorie values mean that they aren’t so friendly to weight-watchers or people trying to stay healthy. Today I propose a solution that is literally the best of both worlds. I’ve been testing out low-calorie recipes for easily the last three years because let’s face it – it’s hard to find recipes for things you enjoy that are also calorie-friendly. This recipe has been a saviour. These apple banana muffins are delicious, filling and so low in calories you wouldn’t believe they are muffins. So, if you’re someone who is baking a lot during this quarantine but would like to make something with fewer calories and is much healthier for you (that still tastes good), why not try out these muffins next? I promise you they are worth it!

Ingredients

225g bananas

125g apple

1tbps lemon juice

¼ cup water

45g brown sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

125g cake flour

1tbsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

Method

• As always, start out by preheating your oven so that it’s ready for you when you need it. Set your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, with top, bottom and fan (my favourite baking setting). Get your muffin pan ready and line it with paper holders (one batch of this recipe typically makes 12-15 muffins so you may need a second muffin pan).

• Once all that’s ready, the first thing to do is prepare your apple sauce. Start off by peeling your apple (as 125g is usually one large apple), coring it and then dicing it into small pieces. Place the diced apples into a saucepan with the lemon juice and water and cook them down until they are soft enough to mash into a chunky apple sauce.

• Now, sift the flour into a bowl and add the baking powder and baking soda. Mix those dry ingredients together.

• Next, it’s time to deal with the bananas. Peel your bananas and break them up into a bowl then, using a fork, mash your bananas until there are no big chunks left. Add your sugar, vanilla extract and the egg and beat it all together.

• When your apple sauce has cooled down so it isn’t scalding hot, pour it into the banana mixture. The reason why the apple sauce needs to cool a little before you can add it is because if it’s too hot, then the apples will cook the egg prematurely and mess up your batter.

• Slowly add the flour into the mixture and beat it together gently. The batter, after mixing, should be light and fluffy and will have puffed up quite a bit (this is due to the acidity in the apple sauce reacting with the dry ingredients). Avoid overmixing as the puffing and expanding of the mixture allows you to make the right amount. At this step, if you want, you can add 2tsp of cinnamon and a 1tsp of ginger. I like to add these spices because they complement the apple and banana really well but if you don’t want to, they’ll still taste delicious without the additional spices.

• Now it’s time for my favourite part – whipping out my ice cream scoop to get the perfect amount of batter in your lined muffin tin. Divide your mixture between your cases, filling them about 2/3s full. They will expand quite a bit so don’t add more than that. All you have to do now is pop them into the oven and bake for roughly ten minutes (or until the tops of your muffins are a beautiful golden brown.

• Once the muffins are done baking, pull them out the oven and let them cool for five minutes in the tin before taking them out and leaving them to cool on your kitchen counter until they are completely cool. These will store well in an airtight container for about a week (due to the fruit). If you followed the ingredient measurements exactly, then there should be about 70 calories per muffin. How awesome does that sound? They make a great snack when you’re feeling peckish in the afternoon or for breakfast.

Anywho, that’s all I have for you guys today! If you end up making this recipe, please let me know how they turn out and if you enjoy them as a low-cal treat as much as I do. What’s super great about these muffins is you can even make them vegan, simply by leaving out the egg. I know this because I accidently baked them once without the egg and they still turned out great so no harm, no foul right? So, for everyone who’s been baking up a storm during quarantine and wants something a little more friendly on diets that isn’t so high in sugar or calories, I hope that this recipe serves you well. Happy baking everyone!

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx