Banana Muffins (Paleo, vegan, egg-free, nut-free and sugar-free)

I have a hard time not baking. I really do... Anyway, after the realization that my youngest daughter (who is now 6 months) is allergic to eggs, I couldn't do anymore paleo baking... Or so I thought! After making plantain tortilla chips, I saw how stretchy the plantain "dough" could be. This is a huge issue for gluten-free baking. The gluten helps hold stuff together. In traditional (re: non-paleo) gluten-free baking, they often use xanthan gum, or something else that's 'binding' but wouldn't likely be paleo. So, I was so excited with the plantains!! I also googled to see if anyone was using plantains as an egg-replacer, and low and behold I found this post by The Paleo Mom discussing how to use binders in paleo baking. She did discuss plantains! But rather then trying to follow a tried and true recipe, I decided to invent my own! I love to do this, and sometimes it ends in utter failure. But luckily this time it was a huge success!! So here is my super simple recipe for banana muffins!

Ingredients: (makes 12 muffins)
1 large plantain (it was yellow, although I'm sure green or black would work too)
2 overripe bananas
1 tsp sugar-free vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cup pumpkin seed flour (ground in my food processor)

First I mashed the plantain and bananas together in a bowl. There were still some chunks, so I poured it all into the food processor and blended it until smooth. I'm sure you could do it in a blender too. Then combine the vanilla with the banana/plantain mixture. Next, combine all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Then pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until combined. Spoon out into muffin cups and bake at 350'F for about 15-20 minutes.

I have tried making them with nut flour (almond and cashew) and they turned out great! Even better... But if you need a nut-free version then the pumpkin seeds work really well! I did try making them with sunflower seed flour... Let's just say I won't be doing that again! There's a reaction between a compound in the sunflower seeds and baking soda that turns green. And I don't mean a hint of green, I mean after a night in the fridge you could use this as camo makeup! Here's a picture of the green muffins!