Are you ready to have your tastebuds and mind blown? Like I said in my “skinny pina colada” post, I am determined to create good-for-you versions of all the things I love. I have tried every fad diet, and struggled with staying thin my whole life. If I work out too hard, I eat too much and that equals bulky… If I starve myself, I can’t work out because I’m exhausted, and doing nothing is just…nothing. I am not only tall, I love being athletic, but I also love being girly and wearing cute clothes. But then I love to eat. This has always created a problem. Bulky quads don’t always fit into that pair of cute Seven jeans. All that aside, I finally feel like I’ve found the perfect balance: Healthy food substitutes that actually taste just as good as the real thing, paired with cardio and light weights here and there. In my next post, we will get to the workouts, but for now, lets talk about my favorite part…the FOOD.

Now these aren’t just diet muffins, and they aren’t just a slightly healthier version of something thats still “fattening.” Side note: “Oh they’re gluten free!” does NOT mean the calories were removed, people. But THESE are the holy grail of muffins. I have eaten four in a day and felt and looked fine. And the scale agrees! The trick is getting a small amount of bs-free batter to rise like a real muffin…That’s where calorie and yeast free baking soda and apple cider vinegar come in! They do all the heavy lifting here. Thanks, guys. Anyway, these muffins have about 1/8 of a banana and a teaspoon of almond butter in each MUFFIN. You can make them with or without the dark chocolate chips, but I think those make them even more amazing. And the only oil you use is what you spray the muffin tin with. I’m serious, you have to taste these to believe it. So get baking…thank me later.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mash 3 very ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl with a fork.

Add 1 cup of almond butter

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of sea salt

4 packets of truvia natural sweetener

(use salt and sweetener to YOUR taste. This is the way I make my muffins, but I like my muffin a bit more salty so the sweetness of the chocolate compliments it. This is something you have to personally test out on your own.)

Spray muffin tin with oil. The better it’s coated, the easier they pop out. Fill each cup with batter about 3/4 full. (They do rise!) drop 3-5 dark chocolate chips on the top of each one (they sink to the bottom).

Bake for 12 minutes.

I’ve noticed these are very hard to burn, so before you dig in, check them once you pull them out of the oven. Stick a fork in one of them and make sure the fork comes out clean. If batter is on the fork, that means they’re still gooey inside. Bake them for about 3 more minutes.

These are very delicate when they are hot. Once they cool, they are a little more sturdy.

Store in an air-tight covered dish in the fridge.

Wha-la! Enjoy!

photo cred: www.bruceamoroso.com