Healthy Banana Chocolate Cranberry Muffins! Say that 3 times fast! 😉 These turned out so yummy  – and I don’t feel bad eating them or giving them to my kids! Give them a try – you won’t regret it!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 – Box banana bread/muffin mix
• 3 – Ripe bananas
• 3 tbsp – Raw cacao powder
• 1/3 Cup Dried cranberries (juice sweetened if you can find them)
• Organic coconut oil (melted)
• Water
• Cupcake liners

NOTE: The ingredients above are based on my boxed mix and my modifications. If your boxed banana bread mix asks for other ingredients like an egg, etc. – make sure to follow that as part of the instructions. I chose not to use any butter and used coconut oil instead. That is an easy swap that you can make no matter which boxed mix yo use. The cranberries and cacao were additions that I decided to add and that will work seamlessly with your boxed mix as well. Hope this helps!

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Preheat oven to the temp listed on your boxed banana mix. My box lists 375 degrees F – but be sure to use the temp listed on your box. If interested – this is my favorite boxed mix for banana muffins and more! I get it at my local Whole Foods but you might be able to request it at your local grocery if they don’t already have it. 🙂
• Peel your ripe bananas, put in a bowl, and mash them with a fork. I like them to be really mashed well – almost smooth with some small lumps.
• My boxed mix listed 1/2 cup of canola oil and a 1/4 cup of water. I chose to use coconut oil since it has so many wonderful health benefits – and I think it is delicious! You can substitute coconut oil for whatever the amount of oil your boxed mix asks for. In this case, I added 1/2 cup melted coconut oil and 1/4 cup water – and mixed well with a spatula.
• Next add in 3 tbsp of raw cacao powder. If you are new to this ingredient – it is not sweet like other chocolate powders. In this recipe, you do not need to add any sugar as there is plenty from the bananas and boxed mix. Stir well with the spatula. Like organic coconut oil – this also has wonderful health benefits yet adds some yummy chocolate flavor without the calories and sugar of adding chocolate chips! Yay!
• Next add 1/3 cup of juice sweetened cranberries. I am a huge fan of these cranberries because they are not sweetened with sugar. They are usually sweetened with apple juice with does have sugar in it – but it is much less sugar and a lot more natural. My kids love them and so do I! They are also great in salads! 😉 Stir the cranberries into your batter so they are evenly distributed.
• Put your cupcake liners into your muffin pans. This is a really fun thing to let your kids do! They feel like they are really helping and it is super easy – my 20 month old was able to assist! I used Spring colors since it is spring time and they are really pretty.
• Evenly distribute the batter between your 2 muffins pans. You will have enough to fill all 12 evenly so take your time filling them part way and then topping them off so they are all pretty equal.
• Put muffins pans into the oven for the specified time listed on your boxed mix. My box mix only had timing for a banana loaf (50 min or so). Because timing was not listed for muffins, I checked them at 15 min by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. Batter stuck to the toothpick so I put them back in for another 5 min. I checked them the same way and no batter stuck to my toothpick – they were DONE! Yay! I recommend checking them a couple minutes earlier than what is listed on the box to be safe. If you have a boxed mix that only lists the loaf timing (like me) – try checking it around the 15 min mark. If batter sticks to your toothpick, put them back in and check again after a couple of min.
• Take our your muffins once they are done and let them cool for 10 min.
• Enjoy warm or let them cool all the way! Either way they are so yummy!

NOTE: I use silicone muffin pans and I LOVE them! Click HERE if you are interested in getting some and want to learn more. If you are new to this type of pan – they are wonderful and can be used for so many things…baked egg “muffins” for easy breakfast on the go (recipe coming soon), cupcakes, brownie cups, cookie cup molds, and more! They also cool down fast and you can get your creations out of these molds a lot easier than using hard pans. If you choose to use silicone baking pans of any type – put them onto a baking sheet for support.

ENJOY! XOXO