I had an absolute hankering for banana muffins this week. @zakludick obliged by providing me with bananas. Thanks babe! However, I do know that muffins are basically cupcakes parading as something healthy, so what can you do to make them truly healthier?
This is also a GREAT way to clean out your pantry and use up stuff that you don't know what to do with. Take the 300g tinned apples for example. There's not enough of them to put them in an apple crumble, so they've just been sitting at the back of the cupboard.
Also, if you have a million children, like me, muffins make great snacks on cold winter days. That being said, it's only day 3 and the are already 2/3 of the way through 48 muffins!
This recipe is so easy and flexible, it would take a real effort to mess them up!
You can interchange oats with bran, coconut with seeds and whatever fruit you can find.
I took my regular recipe and doubled it, adding very generous amounts of banana and apples and good heavens they were (are, since there are a few left) freaking delicious!
So, here's how to make them:
Tools:
A big wooden spoon for mixing
40 muffin trays (12 each)
Cupcake holders (only necessary for the metal muffin trays as the sikicone ones do not stick)
A large bowl for mixing
2 bowls for beating eggs and mashing bananas
A measuring sup
A fork
Some tablespoons
some teaspoons
A damp cloth for sticky fingers
Ingredients with reference to above, you can add and substitute pretty much anything except the basics, like flour, oil, baking powder and eggs.
This was a massive improvement on 🍌🐒🥥🍒Claire's Crazy Bakes and Kitchen Hacks - Chapter 38: "Healthy-er" Reduced Sugar Oatmeal, Banana and Cherry muffins! 🍌🐒🥥🍒
which were actually a bit dry, tbh.
You'll see I added more oil and the tinned apples came with their own syrup. I also used way more bananas, eggs and baking powder, and left out baking soda completely and increased the baking powder which somehow improved the taste drastically.
****Ingredients:****
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 cups of sugar
4 heaped teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1.5 cups of milk (of your choice - I used regular full-fat dairy)
1.5 cups of oil (of your choice - I used sunflower)
vanilla essence (as always, As much as you want!)
10 large mashed bananas
1 tin of apples (sliced) you may need to chop them up a bit if the slices are to big)
As much cinnamon as you like
Sprinkling nuts
Method:
Remember to spray (extremely generously) and line your tins before you get started and preheat your oven to around 180 degrees Celsius.
Baking time is around 35 minutes. Set a timer! It's sp easy to forget, especially if you are as distractible as me! 
This recipe is awesome because you can just basically throw everything into the large bowl and mix Obviously, remove the apples from the tin, peel and mash the bananas and crack and beat the eggs. Just saying you know... with people out there eating tide pods and what what
I substituted one muffin baking tray for my favourite silicone heart tray (which makes muffins, about double the size. I am pretty sure that this recipe would be great as a loaf as well.
Load the muffin holders to about 3/4 to allow for rising. Sprinkle the nuts on top before baking. this makes them a little extra tasty and helps them to not all fall off while you are eating!
Once the 35 minute timer goes off, just test that the muffins are cooked through by using a skewer. If batter sticks to the stick, they are not ready. If the stick comes out clean, you're good to go!
Let them cool off in the tray before removing. In fact, I never got a chance to take them out of the trays, they were eaten so fast!
Enjoy completely plain, or with butter, or with butter and jam(strawberry is my absolute favourite!)!