GENTLE GUT-RECOVERY BANANA MUFFINS

8-10 muffins, 20-25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed well

• 1 cup rice flour OR oat flour

• 1/4 cup arrowroot flour

• 2 Tbsp ghee, melted

• 1/4 cup water or oat/ almond milk

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2-1 tsp ground cardamom

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

• Pinch of salt

• 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup, optional, if your bananas aren't very ripe or you'd like a slightly sweeter muffin

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line or lightly grease a muffin tin.

2. Mash the bananas very well until almost puréed. Stir in the melted ghee, water/oat milk, vanilla, and optional maple syrup.

3. In another bowl, combine the flour, arrowroot, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

4. Fold the dry ingredients into the banana mixture just until combined. The batter should be thick, soft and scoopable, not runny.

5. Divide between 8-10 muffin cups.

6. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the tops spring back lightly and a toothpick comes out without wet batter.

7. Let them cool for several minutes before serving. They're especially nice warm with a little ghee spread over the top.

#kidfriendly #vata #pitta #fall #summer #winter #spring

Notes

• I developed this recipe after my toddler had an upset stomach with loose BMs and was coming off a cold. I wanted to give her something that would soothe the inflammation in her gut after the illness. But she can be picky. Although she loves a muffin :).

• So I needed something light, but demulcent for the inflammation in the gut, but not too mucus-forming- and these muffins were born. These may not be the "knock your socks off taste so flavorful" every day muffin. But they are a nice choice if you have a sick and picky toddler on your hands, or for you.

• The spices reduce the mucus-forming nature of bananas, but they are just mild enough to not overheat the digestive system.

• Banana is an excellent demulcent - moisturizing to inflamed mucous membranes. I usually recommend cooked bananas with mild spices like this to clients who have inflammatory gut issues. Bananas do not combine well with other foods, but when cooked with spices, the entire meal becomes more digestible - so we are good to go with these muffins!

• Rice & arrowroot are also excellent for loose BMs - think kanjee, rice water, porridge - these all have the same soothing and cooling nature that is within rice and arrowroot - hence why we have used them as flours. Oats can also be very easy to digest and soothing, which is why it is offered as an alternative to rice flour - it is a good idea to mix up flours/ grains for toddlers.

• The bananas contribute all of the sweetness of this muffin. So, if your bananas are not super ripe, your muffins might not be as sweet - in that case, I would either wait until they are ripe (unripe, sour bananas can be aggravating to the gut) or I would add maple syrup for extra sweetness.

• If you want to make these muffins and you are not going through a digestive episode, feel free to add in some chopped walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or chocolate chips.