The Sweet Potatoes Strike Back!

After arising this morning I found myself with an interesting challenge!  Snowed in yet again, (another big storm through the night), and low on breakfast supplies- I had to get creative!  After having Sweet potato salad for lunch, dinner, and a snack yesterday, I was ready to switch it up a little bit (even though it is FABULOUS!)!  All I could think of was a nice warm muffin fresh from the oven, with a steaming cup of chai tea.  I stood looking in the fridge willing eggs to appear, and then the light bulb flashed and I was pulling out the mixing bowl!  I happened to have 2 very overripe bananas, and I remembered hearing a while back that you can use mashed banana as an egg substitute!  So I thought I'd give it a try and see what happens!  And what could be more delicious than a Sweet Potato muffin?!  So the sweet potato salad from yesterday came out of the fridge, and the following recipe is the absolutely delicious, HEALTHY result!  After using whole wheat flour, unrefined mascobado sugar (Fair Trade from the Philippines), olive oil, 0 eggs, and that nutrient packed salad, I feel amazing!  These muffins are incredibly moist and flavorful, and I can see that we will be making these a lot!  My daughter ate an entire muffin by herself  (grinning and giggling the entire time) which is a new record, so I know it is a success as it made my little 15 month old so happy!  Try out these fabulous muffins if you can, I think you'll get just as hooked as we are!!

Simple Sensational Sweet Potato Muffins:

Ingredients:

2 overripe bananas, = about 3/4 cup, mashed
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup olive oil, mild
1 packed cup Simple Sensational Sweet Potato Salad, (see previous blog post)
1 cup Whole Wheat flour (I use High Altitude, Hungarian whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup unrefined mascobado golden brown sugar (nutrients and molasses intact!)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Very lightly oil a 6 cup muffin pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas until completely smooth.  Add in the almond milk, olive oil, and sweet potato salad, stirring well to combine.
3. Add in the flour, sugar, sea salt, baking powder and cinnamon, stirring just until fully combined.
4. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.  I had enough batter left over to make about 3 more muffins.  You could use a 12 cup muffin pan and leave a few empty, but I just put the rest of the batter into the freezer (in a freezer zip-type bag) to mix into my next muffin batch.
5. Place into the preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
6. Remove from the oven and set on the counter to cool about 5 minutes. Then, using a clean and dry knife, run around the edge of each muffin to pop them out of the pan.  Set on a plate to cool a few more minutes, then ENJOY!

These muffins are a bit softer than the typical eggy, white flour, fatty muffin; but they held up great, had really amazing texture, and have such a depth of flavor!!  You could taste (and see!) the sweet potato in every bite, and the cranberries, apples, pineapple and sunflower seeds were a perfect compliment, not to mention the orange juice!  Try these out on your next chilly morning with a delicious cup of Chai!  My new favorite breakfast! :)