A week or so ago Neil and I went to Banff with two of our very good friends, and in terms of packing I forgot pretty much everything. Cinnabon had emergency surgery earlier in the week which left me 80% brain dead – a.k.a. I forgot our underwear and non-perishables amongst other things. So when we arrived in Banff we resolved to wear the same underwear twice and use the hotel sugar to reach your carb intake. Thank goodness Banff has a few awesome stores and a Safeway so we were not starved and commando for long.

I had a bag of food on the counter ready to be packed into the jeep which I totally forgot. In there were avocados, bananas, protein bars, cereal, rice cakes etc. When we returned home 5 days later the bananas were past the point of brown, they were black and begging to be used in some sort of Trench Treat, which led me to these amazing muffins.

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

(makes 30-35 mini or 11 large)

  • 1 cup mashed banana
  • 2 tbsp milk of choice
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp white or apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
  • 1 cup spelt or all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
  • 1/3 cup xylitol or sugar of choice
  • pinch stevia or 1 extra tbsp sugar of choice

*Note: You will get fewer muffins if omitting the chocolate chips and most likely lose friends – seriously…

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F, and line a mini muffin tin with  liners.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour wet into dry, and stir until batter is just evenly mixed.

3. Pour into the muffin liners and bake 19-20 minutes or until muffins have domed and a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Allow to sit 10 minutes before removing from the muffin tin. After a day, it is best to refrigerate or freeze leftover muffins.

With Love From the Trench Kitchen,

xoxoErika♥