Mr. Prevention and I often lay in bed at night and stress a little about life with 2 children. We are so fortunate to have my part-time work status (minus a long commute), supportive families, a daycare Shea loves, less work travel for him as of late…there are many, many blessings. But, life still gets a bit chaotic at times. Especially, the mornings and the evening. I feel like I start and end my day in a whirlwind.
It has become increasingly pronounced that Shea gets HUNGRY in a hurry. Ever since we dropped bottles (11!!) days ago, she’s eating more food-food. I’m not surprised by this, but she goes straight from chipper and sweet to RAGING FITS, resolved only by food. I wonder where she gets this…
I’m going to be that mom that carries snacks with me at all times. I came in from getting the mail yesterday only to find her arm-deep into the diaper bag, whipping out a bag of “emergency gold fish”. This child! This morning, she ate the biggest banana I’ve ever seen in 2 minutes flat. How is that possible in that little tiny mouth of hers?
But again, we are fortunate that the child’s palate is very diverse.
I’ve started having her help me with small tasks in the kitchen – what’s more fun that helping mom whisk eggs? Breaking an egg, SPLAT on the floor. It isn’t always pretty or efficient, but she loves to be right in the action.
The day we whipped up these Kale-Banana Toddler Muffins, she was enthralled with the roar of the food processor as the mixture took on a fun green hue. She also enjoyed pulling the kale leaves from the ribs and ripping it into smaller pieces. Who knew she’d be so helpful at a point?
While Mr. Prevention wouldn’t commit to eating these muffins as a staple in his diet, they are adult-accepted and well-loved by my toddler. Subtly sweet and a fun green color, they’re a great grab-and-go snack or quick breakfast option for those hectic mornings. Oh, and very easy to make, too! Gotta love sneaking in veggies for breakfast!
- 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour or white wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups kale, ribs removed, chopped, and loosely packed
- 1 ripe banana
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mist a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, blend the applesauce, egg, vanilla, kale, banana, maple syrup and coconut oil until well-combined.
- Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Scoop the batter into prepared muffins tin and bake for 16-18 minutes.
Yum! Those muffins look delicious. I’ve been addicted to zucchini muffins lately, so this might have to be the next thing I try ๐
Brilliant idea to introduce leafy greens to kids diet! Do you think these muffins can be freezed?
Author
Hi Kate! These muffins freeze VERY well ๐
This is good news! I badly need some emergency food ideas!
Love the stats on this one Nicole! I may have to bake up a batch as a pre-workout snack ๐
The muffins look yum-a-liscious ! x x
Seriously best kid friendly muffins ever! Both my sons 1 & 4 devoured them! My mother in law and I also loved them and had them for breakfast with our morning coffee! Totally going into the rotation! My older one made them with me. So easy and score, I had all the ingredients in my house already!
Can you use whole wheat flour instead? Would you use a little less?
Author
Hi Kristie! I would reduce by 5-10%, yep. ๐ Hope you enjoy!
My two and four year old LOVE these. I add chocolate chips and call them “Green Monster Muffins” .. so good! Also, I use three cups of frozen kale to make it easier and made them Gluten Free by using all-purpose G.F. flour and a teaspoon of xanthax gum. They turned out so moist! Oh, also I had to bake mine a little bit longer. Thank you SO much for the recipe!!
I’ve made these twice for my kids and they don’t even last a day. The whole family loves them. Not just for toddlers!
Author
That’s so great, Lindsey! ๐ Thanks for sharing! <3
I made these tonight. The only thing I changed is that I used 2 bananas because I had two ripe ones instead of one. They turned out great and moist!! Love this recipe!
Author
So glad you enjoyed! <3
Should these be stored in the fridge after cooked and cooled?
Author
They are OK on the counter for 2-3 days but to prolong freshness, I’d refrigerate – they’ll be good up to a week ๐
I made this with 2 bananas and no apple sauce. I added a bit of water and flex egg instead of egg. It’s delicious even I would eat this!
Author
Katie, so glad you enjoyed! Love your adaptations!
Made them today with added chia seeds and our 1 year old Bakey loved them!