Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have to be at the hospital every day at 6 a.m.

6 A.M.

That’s right – 6 a.m. Which means I get up at 4:45 a.m. to get there on time looking halfway decent. One time I got up at 5:17 a.m. I didn’t look halfway decent that day. One of the nurses was concerned, asking me if I was OK as my face was very red.

“No, I’m fine. That’s my rosacea,” I said.

Like I said, I didn’t look halfway decent.

Luckily, the doctor’s lounge has free food for us, so I don’t have to stress too much about making breakfast and lunch to take with me. I can just throw on scrubs, some foundation and mascara, grab a cup of coffee and leave. Except, the doctor’s lounge isn’t staffed on the weekends. So, this weekend I have to bring my own food.

And, I have to be there at 6 a.m. So, I won’t be doing any sort of elaborate meal prep. Especially for breakfast. I think pouring milk into cereal is difficult that early in the morning.

What’s a tired PA student to do? Make muffins, what’s what! This is a favorite recipe of my niece Tara. They’re hearty and filling, but also sweet enough to take the bite out of that dark, early morning drive into the hospital.

I added some nutritional yeast. It’s full of protein, B-vitamins, great for breastfeeding moms, and doesn’t really affect the taste. You can omit it if you want, but it’s a great way to sneak extra nutrients in.

The original Martha Stewart recipe calls for blueberries, but I didn’t have any, so I substituted chocolate chips. I admit, those chocolate chips also make the early morning a little easier to take.

Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 ripe bananas
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix together flours, wheat germ, Nutritional yeast, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing for at least 15 seconds between each egg.

Mash the bananas in a small bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla.

With the mixer on low, alternate adding the dry ingredients and banana mix to the butter-sugar mix. Start and finish with the flour mixture. Add some of the flour, then some of the bananas, then flour, then bananas, then flour. Do not over-mix. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the batter into the muffin pans. An ice cream scoop works really well for this. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 min; transfer muffins to a rack to cool completely.

Once they’re completely cooled, you can wrap each muffin in plastic wrap, then store in a freezer bag and freeze. Take one out the night before and it’ll be thawed for the morning. Warm it in a toaster oven.

Makes 12 muffins.