Even Healthier Muffins

We have a little trouble in our house with blood sugar fluctuations (well, not all of us. Brian seems to be able to go for hours without food and stay sane where as I very quickly become the Kate-Monster and start losing major functions--stuff like thinking and walking--when my blood sugar drops.)

Ian has inherited my blood sugar issues but not my love of food so it becomes tricky to get the right kind of foods into him to prevent the appearance of the Ian-Monster (who, believe it or not, has a louder scream than the Kate-Monster...). Recently I modified my earlier recipe for Healthy Banana Muffins to have more protein and whole grains which can help we glucose-challenged folks stay stable. Now I call them "Even Healthier Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins". They are a little darker brown than the original version but still taste damn good. And they freeze really well. After they cool, put them in a ziplock bag and shove it in the freezer. Then when you want a muffin, pop it in the microwave and nuke for about 20 seconds--this has the added benefit of making the chocolate chips all gooey.

Even Healthier Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 C White whole wheat flour (King Arthur Flour makes white whole wheat)
1/2 C teff flour (Bob's Red Mill teff flour is available at Arbor Farms)
1/4 C honey or white sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C wheat germ (I like the toasted kind)
1/2 C fine ground almonds (you can grind your own in a clean coffee grinder, or buy the Just Almond Meal from Trader Joe's)
3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 medium sized bananas, mashed (3 if you want really moist, heavy muffins)
1/2 C milk
1/4 C canola oil
2 eggs
3/4 C chocolate chips

(You can also add 1/2 C dried fruit: raisins, currants, cranberries, etc. and can substitute 1/2 C ground flax seeds for the wheat germ, and also can substitute soy flour, brown rice flour or sorghum flour for any of the above flours--the recipe is very flexible and, so far, has always turned out well. I've even made these gluten-free for a friend.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Measure dry ingredients into bowl and stir well.

Combine wet ingredients in a bowl and mix until blended.

Add wet to dry all at once, stir just until all the dry stuff is incorporated, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Spray muffin tins with non stick spray or line with papers, fill 2/3 full. For small muffins, bake 15 minutes, for big ones between 20-25 minutes.

Muffins freeze well--once cool put in ziplock bag and freeze. To eat, nuke 1 frozen muffin for 20 seconds.