Who doesn't love a good banana nut muffin? Growing up this was one of my favorite go to sweets. Did you know that most store bought muffins contain hundreds of calories, excess fat and sugar that facilitate easy weight gain? Here I will show you a very easy to make, delicious, nutrient dense, high protein muffin that will help you in you with you achieve your health goals.
Ingredients
Banana, 2 large
Unsweetened almond butter, 1 small jar
Swerve sweetener, 1/2 cup
Salt, 1 teaspoon
Bran, 1 cup (you can also use oatmeal)
Collagen peptide powder, 5 scoops (or you can use unsweetened vanilla protein powder)
Unsweetened applesauce (for garnish)
Chopped walnut (for garnish)
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix by hand until a homogeneous texture is achieved.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a muffin baking tray with cups
Using a spoon fill the cups with the muffin mix.
(Optional) Using a small spoon dab a little applesauce on each muffin.
(Optional) Top the muffins with chopped walnuts as garnish.
Place the muffins in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Let stand for 20 minutes then keep the muffins refrigerated.
Nutritional Profile
Dr. Hansra' s Smart and Easy Muffins have half the calories, nearly half the total fat, a quarter the saturated fat, no cholesterol, six times the fiber, less total sugar, zero added sugars, and more than double the protein of traditional store bought muffins. Also, store bought muffins contain many added artificial ingredients that can potentially derail your health goals. Also store bought muffins may contain many artificial processing ingredients and preservatives such as: Sodium aluminum phosphate, Sodium caseinate, Xanthan gum,
Ascorbic acid, Bleached flour, Thiamine mononitrate, Riboflavin, Ferrous sulfate, Monoglycerides, Diglycerides, Soy lecithin, Propylene glycol monoesters, Sodium stearoyl lactylate! From a nutritional standpoint my muffins are a clear winner. Learn how to make your own functional sweets so you can control what you put into your body and therefore take control of your health
"Learn how to make your own functional sweets so you can control what you put into your body and therefore take control of your health" -Dr. Hansra MD
What is Swerve Sweetener?
Swerve sweetener is a calorie-free sugar replacement made from natural ingredients (1,2). This is in contrast with other sweeteners that are artificial like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose (1). I prefer to use Swerve as it tastes and measures the same as sugar and it does not have the bitter aftertaste of stevia and monk fruit extracts. Swerve is made from three ingredients: erythritol (from corn), oligosaccharides (root vegetables), and natural flavor (from citrus) (1,2). Swerve is great because it does not have any calories and it does not raise your blood sugar or insulin levels and can therefore help with avoiding weight gain (1-5). Swerve can cause certain people to experience digestive upset so avoid it if you experience this. In general swerve is safe to consume in low to moderate amounts (1).
Almond butter benefits
Almond butter is a nutrient dense food and healthier than peanut butter in several ways (6). Almond butter has a high content of monounsaturated fats (good fats) and lower content of saturated fats (bad fats) compared to peanut butter (6). Almond butter has three times the vitamin E, twice the iron content, and seven times the calcium than peanut butter (6). Almond butter has double the fiber compared to peanut butter (6). Both peanuts and almonds are good for you and have been shown to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease (7), death from heart attacks (8), reduced cholesterol (7). Furthermore, incorporation of nuts in the diet of Americans has been shown to improve nutrient quality in both children and adults and could be adopted as a strategy to replace unhealthy snacks (9,10,11). In addition to healthy fats and protein, almonds have a significant amount of magnesium, potassium, antioxidants, and fiber (9,12).
Collagen peptides benefits
Collagen peptides are a source of protein that promotes the health of bone, joints, and skin. Research shows that collagen peptides are safe and effective in managing osteoarthritis, joint pain, and joint health (13,14) even among athletes (15). Collagen peptides have also demonstrated numerous anti-aging effects including skin elasticity (16,17), skin hydration (17,18), reduced skin roughness (17), and wrinkles (18).
Oat bran benefits
Oats are rich in fiber which has been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes (19), cholesterol (19, 20), and heart disease risk (20). Also, oats high fiber content will likely lead to significantly improved bowel movements. Oats have also been shown to reduce the risk of obesity (21) partially owing to it's effect on decreasing hunger (22). Also, increased fiber intake is associated with lower risk of certain cancers (23, 24).
What's the bottom line?
Learning how to make your own lean sweets will help you achieve better health and keep you from gaining weight. My protein muffins are easy to make, all natural, high in plant based protein and fiber, and have zero added sugar. These muffins are nutrient dense packed with functional ingredients to boost your health. So go ahead and try them!
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References:
Healthline.com. Swerve Sweetener: Good or Bad? Swerve Sweetener: Good or Bad? (healthline.com). Accessed June 13th, 2021.
Swervesweet.com. Frequently Asked Questions. FAQs | Swerve (swervesweet.com). Accessed June 13th, 2021.
Noda K, Nakayama K, Oku T. Serum glucose and insulin levels and erythritol balance after oral administration of erythritol in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1994 Apr;48(4):286-92.
Wen H, Tang B, Stewart AJ, Tao Y, Shao Y, Cui Y, Yue H, Pei J, Liu Z, Mei L, Yu R, Jiang L. Erythritol Attenuates Postprandial Blood Glucose by Inhibiting α-Glucosidase. J Agric Food Chem. 2018 Feb 14;66(6):1401-1407.
Niness KR. Inulin and oligofructose: what are they? J Nutr. 1999 Jul;129(7 Suppl):1402S-6S.
Healthline. Almond Butter vs. Peanut Butter: Which is Healthier? https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/almond-butter-peanut-butter#research. Accessed November 22, 2020.
Hu F.B., Stampfer M.J. Nut consumption and risk of coronary heart disease: A review of epidemiologic evidence. Curr. Atheroscler. Rep. 1999;1:204–209.
Albert C.M., Gaziano J., Willett W.C., Manson J.E. Nut consumption and decreased risk of sudden cardiac death in the Physicians’ Health Study. Arch. Intern. Med. 2002;162:1382–1387.
Kalita S, Khandelwal S, Madan J, Pandya H, Sesikeran B, Krishnaswamy K. Almonds and Cardiovascular Health: A Review. Nutrients. 2018;10(4):468. Published 2018 Apr 11.
O’neil C.E., Nicklas T.A., Fulgoni V.L., III Almond Consumption Is Associated with Better Nutrient Intake, Nutrient Adequacy, and Diet Quality in Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2010. Food Nutr. Sci. Natl. Heal Nutr. Exam. Surv. Food Nutr. Sci. 2016;7:504–515.
Rehm C.D., Drewnowski A. Replacing American snacks with tree nuts increases consumption of key nutrients among US children and adults: Results of an NHANES modeling study. Nutr. J. 2017;16:17–23.
Jackson CL, Hu FB. Long-term associations of nut consumption with body weight and obesity. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;100 Suppl 1(1):408S-11S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.071332.
Kumar S, et al. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical study on the effectiveness of collagen peptide on osteoarthritis. J Sci Food Agric. 2015 Mar 15;95(4):702-7.
Bello AE, Oesser S. Collagen hydrolysate for the treatment of osteoarthritis and other joint disorders: a review of the literature. Curr Med Res Opin. 2006 Nov; 22(11):2221-32.
Clark KL, et al. 24-Week study on the use of collagen hydrolysate as a dietary supplement in athletes with activity related joint pain. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008 May; 24(5):1485-96.
Proksch E, Segger D, Degwert J, Schunck M, Zague V, Oesser S. Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2014;27(1):47-55.
Bolke L, et al. A Collagen Supplement Improves Skin Hydration, Elasticity, Roughness, and Density: Results of a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Blind Study. Nutrients. 2019 Oct: 11(10): 2494.
Borumand M, Sibilla S. Daily consumption of the collagen supplement Pure Gold Collagen reduces visible signs of aging. Clin Interv Aging. 2014; 9: 1747-1758.
Sang S, Chu Y. Whole grain oats, more than just fiber: Role of unique phyto-chemicals Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017 Jul;61(7).
Wu JR, Leu HB, Yin WH, et al. The benefit of secondary prevention with oat fiber in reducing future cardiovascular event among CAD patients after coronary intervention. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):3091.
O'Neil CE, Nicklas TA, Fulgoni VL, DiRienzo MA. Cooked oatmeal consumption is associated with better diet quality, better nutrient intakes, and reduced risk for central adiposity and obesity in children 2-18 years: NHANES 2001-2010. Food Nutr Res. 2015;59:26673.
Rebello CJ, O'Neil CE, Greenway FL. Dietary fiber and satiety: the effects of oats on satiety. Nutr Rev. 2016;74(2):131–147.
Egeberg R, Olsen A, Loft S, et al. Intake of wholegrain products and risk of colorectal cancers in the Diet, Cancer and Health cohort study. Br J Cancer. 2010;103(5):730–734.
Chan JM, Wan F, Holly EA. Whole grains and risk of pancreatic cancer in a large population-based case-control study in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Am J Epidemiol. 2007 Nov 15;166(10):1174-85.
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