Healthy Banana Pancake Bites

It’s no secret that I have THE biggest sweet tooth. And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with my kiddos either…

So I am always looking for and trying out healthier versions of some of my fave sweet treats. And my most recent fave is these Banana Pancake Bites. If your kids are obsessed with those sugary mini muffins they eat by the bag full (𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘰 🤪) try these healthier gluten-free minis instead! 🥞 😋⁣

I love using my Nutri Ninja Auto IQ for mixing up my daily superfood shakes and any kind of baking batters that I need to mix thoroughly. So easy! You can grab it at Target, Walmart or Amazon. I get a nice smooth batter with no clumps and bumps, and no manual stirring, which keeps me and the kiddos happy. Of course it’s not necessary, but definitely nice.

Some of the main things that you will need are ripe bananas, coconut oil, gluten free flour of your choice, and maple syrup. Make sure your bananas are nice and soft (aka sweet), but not over-ripe like mush. Coconut oil should be cold pressed, which just refers to the method used to extract the juice and oils from fruit and vegetables. The process involves crushing the produce then pressing the fruits and vegetables in order to get the highest juice yield with the highest nutrient content. It’s basically getting the most out of your food, with no waste of nutrients. 

If you’re new to baking without gluten, I recommend trying out a few different types of flours to see what you like best. Just keep in mind that when using almond or coconut flour, you will need to adjust the amounts. Typically you will need more almond flour (or less liquid) and you will need less coconut flour. But I don’t recommend starting there, since it can become a tricky experiment. My favorite, and what seems to be fool-proof, is Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour, with the red label. It’s gluten free and works great for baking, so it’s my go-to for an easy-peasy gluten-free substitute.

So that leaves us with the maple syrup. This is one of the most important swaps that makes these muffin bites a bit healthier and makes me feel less guilty about letting my kiddos gobble them up. (ok…me too)

It’s no secret that sugar is not good for you 🍭🍬 And yet, the average American still consumes about their body weight (or more) in sugar each year! Which is SO bad…because refined & processed sugar can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and increase the risk of cancer and heart disease. 👎 yuck…

Now of course we can’t avoid sugar completely. It’s the added sugar that we want to avoid — the refined and over processed white sugar. But there’s a lot of whole foods that contain natural sugars that are a MUCH better choice to satisfy your sweet cravings. These natural sugars are such a great swap! And one of them is…maple syrup!

Here’s why it’s so great…

🍁 It’s natural and plant-based, when in it’s purest form. So when you look at the back of the bottle, the ONLY ingredient should be…maple syrup

🍁 It has a lower glycemic index than white sugar

🍁 It provides a better energy source than white sugar or even honey because it has less fructose

🍁 It has more minerals than sugar and honey, like iron, manganese, calcium, zinc, and potassium

To swap out sugar for maple syrup instead, you should use ¾ cup of syrup to every one cup of sugar. Pay attention when using it for baking though, because you’ll want to proportionally reduce the overall amount of liquid in the recipe to maintain the consistency you need. Luckily with this recipe, that’s all accounted for.

You can also use maple syrup for just about anything you would use honey for – to sweeten coffee, oatmeal, yogurt, breads and pancakes — just about anything you want to sweeten up!

Ok…back to the bites. You’ll need 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞 🍌, 𝟷/𝟺 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘪𝘭, 𝟏 𝟏/𝟐 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝟷 𝟷/𝟸 𝘵𝘴𝘱. 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝟏 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐞𝐠𝐠, 𝟹 𝘛𝘣𝘴𝘱. 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘳𝘶𝘱, 𝟏 𝐭𝐬𝐩. 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝟷/𝟸 𝘵𝘴𝘱. 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵⁣

In two separate bowls…combine dry ingredients in one 🥣 then combine wet ingredients in the other 🥣. Add together in 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 & blend until smooth. Divide in a spray coated 24-count mini muffin tin & bake at 𝟑𝟕𝟓F for 𝟷𝟸-𝟷𝟻 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴. ⁣

Don’t forget to pour out a bit of that maple syrup for dipping… & 𝘌𝘕𝘑𝘖𝘠! ⁣Or freeze for later/ store in airtight container in fridge for up to 5 days. But I don’t think they’ve ever lasted that long at our house.

Ready for the recipe? Check it out, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Healthy Banana Pancake Bites

Recipe by Admin

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

144

kcal

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup gluten free all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp sea salt (or Himalayan salt)

• 3 large ripe bananas

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil

• 1 large egg

• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• Nonsitck 24 cup mini-muffin tin
  Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Coat mini-muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl; whisk to blend. Set aside.
• Place banana, coconut oil, egg, maple syrup, and extract in a blender; cover. Blend until smooth.
• Add dry mix to blender; cover. Blend until smooth and lumps are gone.
• Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes, rotating once halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean.
  Serve immediately, or store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

• Original recipe credit: FIXATE Cookbook/Cooking Show
• For those following the same portion nutrition program I do, these pancake bites count as 1 yellow and 1 teaspoon.