Let's talk about breakfast! It's my favorite meal of the day but it can be a tricky one because mornings are go, go, go! Ok, dinner is nuts too but there's something so soul satisfying to me about having a hot cup of coffee and a nice breakfast.  I'm a die hard fan of baked goods and I like to make my own most of the time.  This helps me control the ingredients and save on cost but I still try to keep breakfast baked goods simple.  These muffins hit the spot, kick my chocolate cravings in the teeth and my kids loved them too.

Here's what you'll need for these delicious muffins to make ahead and enjoy for breakfasts and snacks....

Ingredients
​(makes approx. 10 muffins)
-2 ripe bananas
-1/2 cup Greek yogurt
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 cup sugar 
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
-1/2 cup milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp espresso powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks

Directions
Grease a muffin tray and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mash the bananas and mix them with the eggs, yogurt, vanilla, milk and sugar.  Pour the dry ingredients of flour, baking cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder and salt on top.  Use a fork to lightly mix together the dry ingredients and then combine the dry and wet ingredients until mixed thoroughly.

Scoop the batter into the muffin wells.  I use approx. 1/3 cup per muffin.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips or chunks on top of the uncooked muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes and remove from the oven once an inserted toothpick can be removed without batter on it (I find that 22 minutes works great for me).  Allow to cool in the tray for 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to complete cooling.  Enjoy!

We all have a bunch of ripe bananas sitting around the kitchen or in the freezer, right? I find that these pile up fast in my house and this recipe will use them up in no time for a cozy breakfast on a winter morning, which has clearly landed on our door step here in New England this week! We are finishing up our second snow day this week today and there is a delay tomorrow morning. If we keep up at this pace, these kids will be in school through the 4th of July and I wonder if they will be finished with their arguing by then? #siblings

I use 4 ripe bananas in this banana bread and they add enough moisture to the batter that I don't need to use oil. I used sugar but that would be a quick substitution if you wish to use an alternative like maple syrup etc. and go refined sugar free.  One of the many things I love about banana bread is how versatile it is...it can be switched up super easily.  So grab a bowl and let's get this in the oven before it snows again.

Ingredients
-4 ripe bananas
-3 eggs
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 cup oatmeal
-1 TBS cinnamon
-2 tsp baking powder
-3/4 tsp salt
-1 generous handful of chocolate chips

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a loaf pan with non stick cooking spray or parchment paper. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and combine with the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Once all of the wet ingredients are combined, add in the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, salt and baking powder.  Stir together until the batter is fully combined. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven, allow to cool for approximately 15 minutes and then remove from the pan, slice and enjoy!