Anti-Anxiety Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
I hear what you’re thinking. ‘Anti-Anxiety you say? How can a muffin be anti-anxiety?’ Well I’ll start by pointing out that the placebo effect works /even/ if you KNOW it’s a placebo! Neat! But also, I don’t KNOW it’s a placebo in this case, I just suspect it.
Bananas, especially brown bananas, produce natural beta blockers, which means they prevent adrenaline from reaching your beta receptors. Beta blockers are often prescribed for high blood pressure as well as as an off label anxiety treatment. Everyone knows bananas contain potassium, which is important for heart health and water balance, but they also contain tryptophan and mineral magnesium which can help increase serotonin.
Dark chocolate is also widely reported to have a positive impact on stress and studies show it is delicious.
Flax seed contains Omega 3 fatty acids which are vital to the health of your brain.
I could go on about the ingredients but I’ll spare you.
All this according to… THE INTERNET… don’t @ me.
I’m not a fucking doctor and generally I think you should take any health information you read on the a fore mentioned internet with a grain of salt, but sea salt, because I read on the internet that the other stuff is bad for some reason?
While the amount of banana per muffin might not be enough to make a dent in your neurochemistry, they DO contain healthy ingredients that are widely considered wholesome by accredited sources, but that isn’t really the point.
Baking these muffins is a ritual of self care. The act of making them should be soothing and involve music you like or a podcast, maybe a cocktail or a glass of wine, and you should take your time and enjoy knowing that you are doing something loving for yourself. When you eat them, you should rest easy knowing that you’ve taken the time to prepare a healthy treat for yourself that you can enjoy with full confidence that you are not eating weird chemicals and known carcinogens that are present in most commercially marketed sweets.
Ingredients:
1 cups whole wheat flour or all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 cup flax meal
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
About 2-3 large overripe bananas - mashed
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup black strap molasses
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dark chocolate chips to taste (sometimes I like a whole bag, other times I’m a little less heavy handed, sometimes I skip them or substitute walnuts - make yourself happy)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tin with olive oil spray or line with liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients, Set aside.
In another large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas and other wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. Do not over-mix. You can add the chocolate chips or nuts at this point.
Spoon evenly into 12 muffin cups. Bake muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
