Last Updated on January 23, 2024

Banana bread is great. Banana muffins are even better! Like we talked about in the last post, I’m trying to focus on easy portable recipes.

Now that Justin is back in school, our meal planning has shifted. 

We have always been crazy about banana bread. It’s an easy, inexpensive recipe to make. It’s also a nostalgic food for me.

My mom would always make banana bread growing up. In fact, you can guarantee that she’ll make it as my first breakfast when I come to visit.

When Justin and I first moved out to California, we lived on banana bread. We were broke, and our food budget was $100 a month. Banana bread was breakfast, dessert…. and sometimes dinner. 

After we both found jobs, our grocery budget increased to the $250 a month it is now. We got super fancy experimenting with homemade pop-tarts, energy bites, and smoothies.

But, we still keep coming back to banana bread. It’s one of the foods Justin will actually ask me to make. Well, not so much ask. He just hides a bunch of bananas for me to find brown and spotty.

Knowing how much I detest food waste, I have to make banana bread. 

PSA:

Bananas are obviously not local. So, I encourage you to look for the lonely bananas.

These are the bananas without a bunch. They’re often discounted, sometimes browner than their other green/yellow counterparts, and they’re the most likely to be thrown away.

And, I wrote a song about it: Lonely Bananas a song about food waste.

So, love a lonely banana. 

Banana Muffins

350 Degrees, 2 Dozen Muffins

• 4 Large Ripe Bananas Mashed: lonely bananas without a bunch
• 1 1/2 Sticks of Butter Melted: bought in wax paper that can be composted
• 2 Beaten Eggs: packageless from my neighbor’s chickens
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda: bulk spices from Berkeley Bowl
• Pinch of salt: bulk bins at Rainbow Grocery
• 1/2 Cup of White Sugar: bought in paper at a regular grocery store
• 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar: bulk bins at Rainbow Grocery
• 3 cups of Whole White Wheat Flour: bought in paper at a regular grocery store

*Optional: 2 Tablespoons of Water with 2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar Mixed together

Stir the bananas and melted butter together. Add the beaten eggs in one at a time. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining dry ingredients. Once incorporated add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. 

Scoop the batter into a well greased and floured muffin tin. Fill each tin half way. I just received a misto and I am in LOVE. It has been a godsend for baked goods. 

To add a nice sweet crunch on top, brush the water and sugar mixture a top of the muffins. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

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These muffins don’t last long in our house. I’m lucky if they last the both of us a week. If you don’t think you’ll eat them that fast, they freeze wonderfully. Freeze in a cloth bag in a crisper drawer up to a month. 

Now that fall is approaching, I might try my hand at my mom’s famous pumpkin bread. Nothing says fall like pumpkin bread. I find that we really like to pass bread recipes down through our family. Amish friendship bread, banana bread, pumpkin bread, and pie crust. I count pie crust… it’s bread-like.

Do you have any nostalgic recipes in your family? 

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