Chocolate Yogurt Banana Mini Muffins

The name of these is totally a mouthful, but you will want every morsel in your mouth when you taste these little beauties! They are amazing! Rich chocolate yumminess combined with healthy greek yogurt and bananas. A match made in healthy/tasty breakfast heaven.

I have been on a mini muffin kick for about a year now. They are super convenient with kiddos. I can warm them quickly from the freezer without the volcanic heat risk that usually comes with heating things in the microwave. I can also use up my leftover bananas, which is always a plus (waste not, want not) and save the muffins in the freezer for our crazy-busy school mornings. Who can say no to a few mini muffins with some scrambled eggs?

I originally found this recipe on pinterest. It said in the notes that greek yogurt could be used, but they used sour cream. Still an option if you're interested, but I like the flavor and texture of the greek yogurt for these. I also switched out the butter for oil. I feel like it makes softer, fluffier muffins. I haven't yet gotten on the coconut oil bandwagon so I don't know if that would work. I stick to canola oil for these types of recipes.

After a few other adjustments, I found the perfect balance of chocolate, banana, and yogurt to make an amazing mini muffin that's great for a busy morning, on-the-go breakfast, or even part of a bag lunch for school.

Chocolate Yogurt Banana Mini Muffins

2 medium banana’s (about 1 c)

½ c greek yogurt

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla

½ c canola oil

2 c flour

½ c sugar

1/3 c cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ c mini chocolate chips

In a bowl, blend together the bananas, egg, oil, vanilla, and yogurt. In a mixer, blend the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on, slowly add the wet ingredients into the mixer. Stop when combined. Remove and add mini chocolate chips. Gently fold them in and scoop the batter into greased (or paper-lined) mini muffin pan. Fill each muffin level to the top.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven. Allow them to cool for a few minutes and then remove from the pans to cool completely. Enjoy, or freeze them to enjoy later.

Weekly Menu, Jan 30

It feels like the days are blurring together. Things have been moving so quickly, it’s hard to feel like I’m staying up with what’s going on. It also seems a bug flying around my daughters school has finally set up camp in her and decided to share the love with the rest of us as well. I’ve been drinking my kombucha, trying to keep up on my exercise, and healthy eating for fear it will knock me out. I went down during Christmas break…I don’t want to go down again.

We’ve also had some different, much cooler and wetter weather the last few weeks. It’s been a very nice change of pace, though I admit I’m not crushed it will be warming back up next week. It’s fun to pull out the “winter garb” once in a while, but I’m grateful I don’t have to rely on it day after day.

The menu last week went well. Not too many changes or adjustments along the way.  This weekend I stocked the freezer with muffins, biscuits and pancakes in preparation for this week. I’m also trying a couple new things for lunches, so we’ll see how that goes. For dinners this week I’ve picked out some oldies-but-goodies with burgers and teriyaki meatballs, and some regulars like mac n beef and pizza.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	*kefir shake biscuits w/jam sausage patty	PBJ Apple slices cheesy goldfish	chicken taquitos refried beans corn
Tuesday	*kefir shake banana muffins HB eggs	ham & cheese sandwich grapes	mac n beef green beans
Wednesday	*kefir shake oatmeal w/fixings	CC & jam bagel blueberries veggie sticks	EARLY MEAL teriyaki meatballs pineapple rice Asian veggie mix
Thursday	*kefir shake waffles scrambled eggs	turkey roll ups cheezits carrot sticks	chicken fettuccini alfredo broccoli
Friday	*kefir shake choc banana muffins sausage links	PBN sandwich applesauce chips	crispy chicken mashed potatoes corn
Saturday	*kefir shake roll up pancakes bananas	hot dogs pineapple cheetos	pizza salad
Sunday	*kefir shake bacon & eggs cinnamon toast	grilled cheese carrot sticks chips	burgers baked beans potato salad

So that’s our week! Nothing too much going on with school or after school activities so that will help to keep things calm. Once everyone is on the mend we should be good to go. Have a great week and enjoy!

Weekly Menu, Jan 23

Ahh! I feel like I can finally take a deep breath and relax. I just hosted a fun birthday for my daughter. It was so much fun and I had a blast designing and making the cake! I think it was the largest number of people we’ve had at our house, which I was a little nervous about but it went very smoothly.

The thing I think I was most worried about was the cake. She wanted a princess party and I wanted a multi-tiered cake for her. I’ve never made something like that before and it was a bit intimidating. After a little research and some imaginative use of my pyrex bowls, I was able to make a cake she was very proud of.

It also tasted amazing! I found this Cloud Frosting on Pinterest that I’ve used before and once again it proved to be a hit! I had a special request to make it again for her school cupcakes. Mmm, I can do that.

So, this week I am repeating the roast meal. It never happened last week; I was way too exhausted and didn’t want the dishes. Otherwise I really want to keep it simple so I can get back on track in the kitchen. I’ve been having a lot of fun with pinned meals lately, so hopefully I will get back to that next week.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	*kefir shake choc banana muffins scrambled eggs	PBJ strawberries cheesy goldfish	roast mashed potatoes peas
Tuesday	*kefir shake roll up pancakes strawberries	CC & jam bagel blueberries grahams	honey chicken kabobs Asian veggie mix
Wednesday	*kefir shake oatmeal w/fixings	PB & banana applesauce cheezits	EARLY MEAL chicken pot pie salad
Thursday	*kefir shake breakfast biscuits	turkey roll-ups carrot sticks chips	crockpot shredded beef chimi’s corn refried beans
Friday	*kefir shake cinnamon toast HB eggs	PBN apple slices cheesy goldfish	date night-pizza
Saturday	*kefir shake bacon & eggs	grilled cheese cantaloupe chips	steak baked potatoes green beans
Sunday	*kefir shake waffles sausage links	Ham & Cheese crackers grapes	beef quesadillas corn salad

That’s how it’s looking for the week! Keeping it simple and yummy. Meanwhile I will be looking for some new things to try. I'm also really hoping to have the biscuit recipe up this week, and would love to get the chocolate banana muffin recipe I've been playing with up as well. We'll see what I can do with all my 'free time'. Have a great week and enjoy!