I had a good weekend, perhaps a little too good a weekend; so of course, fate had to course-correct – by Saturday night I’d managed to dump a glass of water all over my laptop’s keyboard!
It finally felt like a spring on Sunday, the kind of day where you could actually try that old Vancouver adage; ‘go skiing in the morning and sailing in the afternoon’.
Or if you’re me; go snowshoeing in the morning, and be back down in time for a late afternoon picnic in the park.
And in between these activities – there’s even time to stop by the Apple Store to get the bad news.
Somehow, the sun improves my outlook and I’m all… “whatever! It’s just stuff… nature is what heals the soul!”
I packed my little picnic and walked along the seawall headed for the park.

And through it all, these muffins are what kept me going…
Almond butter and banana muffins… sweet bananas with nutty almond butter.

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Almond Butter & Banana Muffins

(adapted from One Green Planet)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 6 tablespoon almond butter
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 2 tablespoon ground flax seed + 4 tablespoon water (mixed, and set aside)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Crushed nuts/flaxseed/chocolate chips (for topping)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, mix well
3. In a separate bowl, stir oil and almond butter until well mixed
4. Add mashed banana, flax mixture and coconut milk and mix well
5. Combine the dry ingredients with the dry ingredients, and mix until it’s all well combined.
6. Spoon batter into paper-lined (or greased) muffin pan, about ¾ full for each and top with a few toppings of your choice
7. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
8. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and enjoy!

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