Vegan(ish) banana muffins

This recipe popped up at just the right time, in one of those "you might also like..." features at the bottom of the blog I was reading--one of my favorites! We hosted our running group's long run on Saturday and needed to come up with food for about 20 hungry, sweaty people. Since I am the Clean Eating Machine, I try to provide post-run goodies that jive with that persona. Practicing what I preach and all that. :) This muffin recipe called for stuff I already had available, so I could make it basically cost-free. Love that!

Banana-Millet Muffins
from The Clean Eating Mama
makes 12 muffins

2/3 cup whole millet
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I subbed Bob's Red Mill GF flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt (don't overdo it... about 1/8 tsp)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup soy milk, or non-dairy milk of choice (I subbed cow's milk since I had it)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup non-dairy or organic chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375* and line a muffin tin with papers or reusable liners.

2. Grind millet in a blender or food processor until nearly powdered. Dump into a mixing bowl and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

3. Combine mashed bananas with oil, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix gently; fold in chocolate chips.

4. Scoop batter into muffin cups and bake 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

When I first tasted one, I thought they were kind of gritty, but then I realized that was the millet talking. If you don't want that touch of crunch, grind your millet more finely. The chocolate chips provide a touch of sweet creaminess, and if you're a fan of putting butter/Earth Balance/jam on muffins, that would be tasty, too. I double the recipe and ended up 24 large muffins and 12 mini muffins, with a few left over after the run. I enjoyed two of them with coffee this morning after my 8-mile run (marathon training is ramping up...).