Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Scarlett loves to graze. All day long. She’ll sit for her three meals each day, but I find she prefers smaller meals that don’t seem too intimidating to finish with a plentitude of snacks in between. I’m hoping for great table manners one day, so I figure if I can get her to comply with a few simple meal-time rules, for a less ambitious amount of time, the longevity will eventually come. She always finishes what I ask before she is exused, so I try not to complain too much. I could, however, complain about her ability to tidy up, but this isn’t the time or the blog.

With such an active girl, it’s my daily challenge to keep a wealth of healthy snacks on deck. She’ll easily pack two to three small snacks between her meals. And if you’ve ever had goldfish unload in your purse alongside the endlessly leaky water canteen you likely lug around like me, then you’re familiar with the gross yellow paste that the two create. It mimics wet cement. Needless to say, I’m always on the snack hunt and welcome new additions.

After ballet one Saturday morning, Scarlett pressured one of her classmates to share their snack with her. She downed two mini banana chocolate chip muffins that the little ballerina’s mother had made the day earlier. When Scarlett was turned down on her third request, she turned to me and said, “Me yike these, Mommy. Can you make them too, peez?” Hence, the muffin recipe hunt began. I used to hunt for shoes.

After trying various recipes, I combined a few, made some additions and arrived at the one below that is now one of Scarlett’s mid-morning snack staples.

Of course, full sized muffin tins work great as well. Scarlett does like the mini ones, and I find them easier to travel with and great for little hands.