My go to after school snacks are these Nut Butter Muffins. Or “Banana Protein Bombs” as the kids like to call them! They take very little time to throw together and I get to control what goes into the recipe.
In NY, our children don’t go back to school until after Labor Day. Needless to say, our kids are still home with us. So while most of the country is already following their new back to school routines, we are still squeezing in final trips to the beach and lots of visits to Grandma’s pool.
In between all of our last minute activities, we’ve also been trying to get the kids ready to go back to school. Much to their dismay, this means that we are no longer eating sunset dinners on the back porch or staying up way past their bedtime. Instead, meals are being served on time at the table, with bathtime, reading and bedtime followed shortly after. We feel bad doing it, but we do it because it really does help them transition back to school routines much faster.
With all of this back to school stuff on our minds, I’ve also started filling out our September wall calendar. I’m a stickler for everyone knowing where everyone needs to be because it helps keep unnecessary chaos out of our lives. With so many after school activities to juggle – religious education, sports practice, music lessons, field trips and more – it just simplifies things if it’s hanging on the wall.
Our family calendar also helps me immensely during meal prep. I love being able to glance up at the wall and be reminded that so-and-so has swim practice after school, so dinner will not be served at our normal time. When this happens, I know that I need to prepare a snack for my kids to gnosh on during practice that will help tide them over until dinner. I really prefer for my kids to have a nutritious snack in between meals and if I know where everyone is going to be, I can set aside some time in my day to whip something up.
My go to snacks are muffins. They take very little time to throw together and I love that I get to control what goes into the recipe. One of their favorite recipes happens to be these Nut Butter Muffins. Or, “Banana Protein Bombs” as the kids like to call them and actually the nickname is quite fitting. These nut butter muffins are made without any flour and have lots of “better for you” ingredients like bananas and new LÄRA nut butter.
I also love that they are made in a blender. Yep, no need to whip out my loyal stand mixer. Instead, I just dump all of the ingredients into the blender and push a button. It takes no effort at all and 20 minutes later, they’re ready for the kids to chow down on.
And yes, you heard me correctly. The awesome people behind LARABAR are now making nut butters in two yummy flavors: Chocolate Coconut and Banana Nut!! They’re available exclusively at North East and Bay Area Costco locations. You have NO idea how happy I am that we renewed our membership…because these nut butters are SO INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS. I may, or may not have, eaten both flavors straight out of the jar…on a spoon…and double dipped. Just saying…
NUT BUTTER MUFFINS (BANANA PROTEIN BOMBS)
Makes 6 Muffins.
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup Lara Banana Nut Cashew and Almond Nut Butter
- 2 TB maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp gluten free baking powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set rack to top position in oven.
Step 2: Add all ingredients to the blender. Reserve 1/4 cup chocolate chips for the topping. Blend on medium for 1 minute, or until all ingredients are blended.
Step 3: Pour into a silicone muffin pan. Top the 6 muffins with the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips. (Note: I find that his recipe works best without muffins liners. They bake more evenly in an unlined silicone baking pan.)
Step 4: Bake for 15-20 minutes on the top rack at 400 degrees.
Do your kids have a favorite muffin recipe? Share your ideas and thought with us below. We would love to hear from you!
Happy snacking,
Daniele
These nut butter muffins look absolutely fantastic! I need to try them soon 🙂
The only problem? We can’t make them fast enough. The kids inhale them each week at school. I recently started making a double batch to fill up a whole muffin tin, but I’m still playing with the cook time. I also freeze them and the kids say they’re defrosted by lunchtime, so I can make them in batches now!