Banana blueberry muffins

In the early days of knowing we had food sensitivities to deal with in our family, I tiptoed very cautiously in the land of gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free baking.  I followed any promising sounding recipes I found to the letter, and slowly built up a collection of trusted ones that always resulted in delicious, healthy foods.  As time passed, I started to feel more comfortable with the new ingredients and experimenting with them in my kitchen.  It has been really rewarding in the last while to be able to develop some of my own versions of recipes and to see the smiles on my family's faces when they enjoy the end results.

These banana blueberry muffins came to be when I played around with the pumpkin spice muffin recipe given to us by Will's teacher (which I posted back in January).  While we still really love the pumpkin version, I think these banana blueberry ones are Will's and my new favourite!  These muffins can be made with whole wheat flour and milk if you prefer, or you can make the gluten-free, dairy-free ones pictured here using the suggested substitutions.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (substitute brown rice flour for gluten-free muffins)
1/2 cup oat bran (substitute pure oats finely ground in a food processor for gluten-free muffins)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (approximately 2 large bananas)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup milk (dairy, almond, or rice)
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 tbsp applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated orange zest

In a large bowl, mix flour, oat bran, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and sea salt until well combined.
Whisk together mashed banana, milk, honey, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and orange zest in a medium bowl until well combined. 
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until mixed.  Fold in frozen blueberries.
Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin cups and bake at 375 F for 20 to 30 minutes. (Check the muffins after 20 minutes -- cooking times will vary depending on your oven.) Cool and serve.

These nutritious and tasty muffins make an excellent mid-morning snack, and they freeze well.  Will tells me that blue/purple fruits make you really smart, too -- he's planning to eat a lot of these to boost his brain power even more.  Enjoy!