Baking up some comfort

It is cold here. Like, really cold. And, I don't know about you but, when it is really cold I like to eat warm, comforting things. Like lasagna. Or spaghetti. Or enchiladas. Or chicken wild rice soup.

Funny thing about comfort food in Minnesota: It is generally not terribly healthy and we are trying to do that whole crazy healthy thing. So I have had to go searching.

I picked up some Coconut Oil at Trader Joe's last week which I have been wanting to do for a while. I would walk down the aisle, pick it up, look at it and set it right back down and move on. I am not sure why I wouldn't actually just buy it. It isn't expensive. It's pretty shelf stable. It is made of coconut! And I love coconut! So I finally made it home with some.

And then I went to town on the internet. I figured if I couldn't have something cheesy and creamy and totally soul satisfying, I would have to settle for the next best thing: warm from the oven muffins!!

It didn't actually take that long to find the first recipe I tried. My mom had mentioned making banana bread and that sounded so perfectly satisfying for my mood that I went out in search of a suitable substitute. That is where these Banana Coconut Muffins come in. They are sweetened only with banana and honey and get their structure from whole wheat flour and unsweetened coconut. And they use coconut oil instead of butter or vegetable oil! Healthy, healthy, healthy.

They aren't terribly sweet and I think if I made them again I would leave out the lemon zest or add a little more honey because those two ingredients kind of compete with one another. The recipe made 11 muffins and they were gone in 36 hours and my daughter (who is not fond of new foods) declared me "the best cooker"-- so they were good ;)

And this recipe serves as the perfect base for other kinds of muffins! As I was falling asleep a few nights ago, all I could think of was muffins and apples and cinnamon and oatmeal-- Enter my version: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins!

They are still sweetened with a ripe, mashed banana and honey and contain only white whole wheat flour and rolled oats for structure. Add in a little coconut oil, some apples, cinnamon and a few other essentials and you get a tasty, comforting, house warming muffin with only 160 calories!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins
Recipe makes 6 muffins- could easily be doubled
Adapted from Cookie+Kate

2 Tbl. Coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup honey
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 small apple, peeled and diced small
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix oil, honey, banana, egg, vanilla and apple in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Either spray or line a 6 muffin tray (or half of a 12 muffin tray!) and scoop the batter in using an ice cream scoop.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly on a baking rack and enjoy!