I have been perfecting this muffin recipe over several months out of desperation to find something that tastes delicious and sneaks in a serving of veggies for my picky preschooler. Every recipe I tried was either tough, bland, not sweet enough, or packed with too much sugar to make it sweet enough. Therefore, after trial and error I finally found a winner that my daughter will eat happily…and be excited to bake with me.
The hero of this story is the really the hit preschool sensation the PJ Mask television show. I might have told my toddler a little fib that the baby spinach was really “Gecko” food that helped make the character Gecko super strong (hey, it worked for a whole generation with the cartoon Popeye, right?). Anyway, my daughter will willing to help prepare and try the “Gecko” muffins. In reality the muffins taste like banana muffins seasoned with cinnamon, ginger and sweetened naturally with maple syrup. The spinach is hidden away and provides the muffin with a fun bright green appearance. I keep these muffins in a refrigerator and eat on them as breakfast or dessert throughout the week.
Give my spinach banana muffins a try and let me know in the comments what you thought and if your little PJ Mask enjoyed them.
Spinach and Banana Superfood Muffins
Equipment
- blender
- oven
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 1 Egg or Egg Substitute
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Cups Fresh spinach
- 1 Banana Ripe
- 1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
- 2 tsp Coconut Oil
- 1/2 Cup Flour Almond
- 1 Cup Flour All-Purpose
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ginger ground
- 1 tbsp Cinnamon ground
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan and set aside.
- Assemble all ingredients.
- Mix the apple sauce, egg or egg substitute, vanilla extract, spinach, banana, coconut oil and maple syrup in a blender or food processor until completely mixed.
- Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon) in a separate bowl. Add the spinach/banana mixture to the dry ingredients.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together by folding them together with a spatula until well mixed.
- Use a spoon or cookie dough scoop to evenly distribute the muffin batter to the muffin pan.
- Cook in the oven for 17-20 minutes until the muffins are just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and check with a toothpick to make sure that the muffins are completely baked.
- Let cool for 5 minutes and remove from the muffin pan and enjoy!
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days (if they last that long 😉