Going Bananas

With the current economy I am having to find ways of reducing food waste. I can see the dollar signs falling into the waste bin and it bothers me. One area I notice waste more than any other is fruit. It seems that no matter how small a bunch I buy, I always seem to have bananas that become overripe before we can enjoy them. Walking past the fruit basket today, I decided to try and do something about this.

With no real plan in mind I riffled around our pantry and discovered a leftover bag of pecans from Christmas. With that my idea was born, leftover banana nut muffins. I am not usually a muffin person, they always seem too sickly here in the states. These however turned out lovely and light. These are a great addition to a lunch box for a midday snack.

-Going Nuts, Banana Muffins- 


Makes about 18 muffins (Depending on size)


Ingredients:


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar 
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (chopped)
4 bananas
1 1/2 sticks butter melted
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 eggs


Get Cooking:


Preheat the oven to about 175 F- this will vary depending on your oven. 


1. Cut two bananas up and put them into a mixing bowl along with the brown sugar. Whip this together with your electric mixer on high for about five minutes. 


2.While your bananas and sugar are mixing lightly mash the remaining bananas with a fork. You want these to have some texture to them, so do not over-mash them. Set these aside along with your chopped nuts. 


3. To the banana sugar add the remaining wet ingredients including butter, eggs and vanilla. Turn your mixer back on to high for about 7 minutes. The mixture should be quite light and fluffy. 


4. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add these to your mixing bowl in batches until fully incorporated. 


5. Lightly fold in the nuts and mashed banana. 


6. Spoon this mixture into a lightly greased muffin tin. Make sure to tap the tin on the counter before baking, in order to remove any air bubbles. 


7. Bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy.