Did you notice I didn’t give a specific time that I’d make the muffin recipe?

That’s because I know myself. It’s taken forty years, but I’m slowly learning to set myself up for success by understanding that life happens and we have to work around the everyday minutiae.

I wanted to tell you I’d make the muffins that night — Monday — when I posted the recipe and offer a tantalizing followup bright and early Tuesday morning.

Didn’t happen, so I’m glad I held back making such a promise.

I AM happy to report that I got all the ingredients yesterday (well, sort of, more on that in a bit…stay with me) and made a batch last night.

I’m feeling quite proud of myself. I’m horrible with deadlines, even self-imposed ones. I suppose it’s the rebel in me.

I do need accountability, though, and the sheer act of posting that I was going to make something and tell you about it gave me just the nudge I needed.

Enough with the self-reflection. On to the muffin review:

My kids devoured these.

But for the sake of full transparency, I must admit I have pretty great eaters. I’ve found that even when they get super-picky, if they’re hungry enough they’ll eat most anything.

These were just okay for me, but I’ll definitely try another batch. They were also a little chunky for my taste, but that could be remedied with finer chopping in the food processor.

After Monday’s post, a friend commented that this recipe wouldn’t work for her because she hates bananas, which reminded me that I’m not fond of bananas in recipes either — I blame my mother (don’t we always?) for her over-enthusiastic, annual banana bread bake-fest when I was a kid. Our house smelled like rotten bananas for days prior because according to Mamala, “The best banana bread comes from bananas that are all the way brown — right on the cusp of rotten, but not quite…”

I toyed with the idea of a substitution once I realized the recipe called for TWO bananas, but decided to go with it…until I got to Publix and all the bananas were green. VERY green.

I decided, in a very unscientific fashion and brief Google search, that 3/4 cup of applesauce would be an adequate substitute for two ripe bananas.

Then I remembered that our jar of local honey got knocked off the counter by my rambunctious red-head, so I subbed with maple syrup, hence the other alteration made to the original recipe. Oh, and I was on my way to adding 1 tsp of Himalayan sea salt to the dry ingredients when I realized only 1/2 tsp was required, so the muffins probably ended up with some amount in between, about 3/4 tsp.

I realize that all the food scientists flocking to my page have now bolted. Sorry! I’m not remotely legalistic, though I do try to follow recipes to a T, simply because I want all the hard work of food prep to equal delicious (okay, at least edible) food.

These muffins worked, substitutions and all. They could stand to be a tad sweeter, but perhaps the honey and bananas would be just enough. I used natural, no-sugar-added, applesauce, and the apples I used weren’t especially sweet.

I also liked that they were filling. I had one last night and one this morning for breakfast and am quite satisfied. My kids had two a piece last night and two each this morning for breakfast, but they can put away food. Wallace, the 6yo, doesn’t eat as much as my 8yo, but he LOVED them.

Both kids said these were the best muffins they’d ever tasted, but they say that anytime I actually bake anything. Still, it’s nice to hear, and it’s nice knowing they’re getting plenty of good nutrients.

Yay!! This recipe is a keeper.

Here’s the link to my original post that includes the recipe:

https://griefhappens.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/superfood-muffins/