Strawberry Banana Buckwheat Muffins

A healthy, gluten-free muffin that’s made with buckwheat flour, bananas, strawberries, honey, and more. These muffins are perfect for breakfasts on the go and are completely guilt free, even with the tasty streusel topping. 

 

 

I love muffins. Love, love, love them! And yes, I know saying love three times was unnecessary..but whatever.

Unfortunately, I don’t make a lot of muffins, mainly because they are usually full of sugar, white flour, etc. Which, you know, usually makes for a delicious muffin, but when each one has a decent amount of calories in them…it makes me sad that I can only eat one (when I really want about 10.)

So, I decided to try and make a slightly healthier muffin, that was gluten AND dairy free, that I could eat more than one of and not feel like I couldn’t eat anything else the rest of the day. And I did it. It took a few burnt batches to do it, but I think I have a delicious, gluten free buckwheat muffin filled with fruit that anyone can enjoy. Best of all, it even has a tasty struesel topping (three ingredients — buckwheat, coconut sugar, and coconut oil!)

 

 

So, let’s start with talking about buckwheat first. I hadn’t ever heard of it until I saw this post over at the Bread Geek about the benefits of buckwheat. It’s cheap, good for you, your brain, and your immune system, helps prevent diabetes, and is a prebiotic (be sure to read about prebiotics in this post!) I think it’s a great gluten free substitute for regular flour. The texture of it was very similar to what I would expect a whole wheat muffin to taste like!

I was sent some buckwheat groats from Bob’s Red Mill awhile ago, but I didn’t know what to do with it, since I didn’t have a wheat grinder.

 

I was about to just buy some buckwheat flour somewhere, when we got this Ninja Ultima Blender Plus. I have a post in the works all about this amazing piece of equipment, but one thing I love about it, is that it’s powerful enough to let me grind my own wheat…and that’s exactly what I did with my buckwheat groats! In less than 10 seconds, I had buckwheat flour, all ready to go into these buckwheat muffins.

 

I wanted to use lots of fruit in these muffins, to help act as a natural sweetener. I had convinced Forrest that we needed to buy a huge container of strawberries from Costco, so I decided to use up some of those, and what goes better with strawberries than bananas? Nothing, that’s what!

 

We also used a little bit of honey, and some raw coconut sugar, just to sweeten it up a little bit more. I’ll admit, these aren’t as sweet as the ones you’ll find at your local bakery or grocery store, but they are still really good, especially with the struesel on top. They are also fun to make with your little ones. Jack pretty much poured and stirred everything for me (I’ve got a little chef on my hands — a boy after my own heart!)

 

And the streusel? It’s definitely necessary. I feel like it’s the perfect finishing touch, and it’s super easy to make as well.

 

The first batch I made (seen going into the oven below) basically were an epic fail. The insides tasted great, but the outsides? Oh boy. They were burnt to a crisp and were completely inedible. I was so sad. Take it from me, it’s worth it to check the muffins periodically to make sure they aren’t getting burnt. We ended up turning our oven down on the third batch to 325 degrees, rather than 350, and baked them for 15 minutes, which was perfect. I do think our oven cooks a little hot though, so be aware of that.  The pictures you actually see here in this post are the three least burnt from the first batch (I made the perfect batch at night and haven’t had a chance to take those pictures yet. Forgive me!)

I think I finally perfected the recipe, however, and I love having them around for a yummy, healthy snack. We all really enjoy them around here, and I’m okay with giving Jack them. Unlike most baked goods, they aren’t full of sugar and dairy products, so I don’t mind him eating them on a regular basis.

Be sure to check out all these other great recipes, all a part of the Clean Eating Challenge, as well as a yummy recipe from my Happy and Healthy group!

Keep it Simple, Sweetie – Mango Ginger Smoothie

Je suis alimentageuse – Passionfruit Mochi

Cooking with Curls – Guacamole Linguine

Delighftul E Made – Loaded Guacamole 

Life as Mrs. Larson – Clean Snacks!

Bite of Delight – {sweet} Potatoes Anna

Sandy Every Day Southwest – Grilled Mango with Honey and Pistachios

Wallflour Girl – Healthy No Bake Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Project Domestication – Creamy Brown Rice Farina with Fresh Berries

Pint Sized Baker – Kiwiberry Pops (Happy and Healthy)