Banana Bread Muffins & Yogurt Cheese

We have a very large, green bowl that sits on our counter. It is usually filled with bananas in various states of decay. My rather amusing husband calls it the "Bowl of Death". I call it "active planning" for banana bread or muffins. Once he sees the muffins, he tends to agree. Until the muffins are gone anyway.

If you don't have time to "ripen" the bananas, ask the produce guy/gal at the grocery store. They usually pull the bananas when they are finally ripe enough to eat! And he'll probably give them to you for a good deal. Get extra to put in the freezer (peeled first!) for smoothies!

Banana Muffins

5-6 medium, overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup raw honey
6 Tb. coconut oil, slightly warmed to liquefy
1 t. sea salt
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. baking soda
5 cups whole wheat flour (I use 3 cups whole wheat and 2 cups white spelt flour)
2 cups raw pecans or walnuts, chopped


Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Add wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Be careful not to over-mix or muffins will be tough. Grease muffins tins with coconut oil and fill 2/3 full. Bake in oven preheated to 375F for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. These are great with homemade yogurt cream cheese! Makes 24 muffins.



Yogurt Cream Cheese


1 large container whole milk, organic yogurt
cheese bag or multiple layers of cheesecloth


Carefully spoon yogurt into cheese bag or cheesecloth. It's easier if you set the bag/cloth in a colander over a bowl. Tie shut and hang from hook, (I have a cup hook under an upper cupboard specifically for this), making sure that there is a bowl underneath. Let yogurt drain overnight. In the morning, dump the cheese into a glass bowl, cover with waxed paper and place in the fridge. (Don't throw away the liquid in the bowl..this is called "whey". I add about 1/3 cup of whey when soaking dried beans to help break down the "toots". It can also be used as the liquid in bread making.) The yogurt cheese lasts for about a week in the refrigerator.