Lentil-Banana Muffins

Yes, this is another muffin recipe, and yes, it has lentils in it. Don't run away! They were good. I do realize that most people probably will not puree some lentils just to make these muffins, but if you happen to have some extra cooked lentils around from a previous recipe, this would be a great way to use them. Or you could cook some extra next time you make a lentil meal and use them in this.

I did puree some lentils just for the purpose of making the lentil chocolate cake, and I froze the extra. I found both the frozen pureed lentils and the Luscious Lentils recipe collection around the same time. These muffins were meant to be made.

Lentil-Banana Muffins

Makes 12-16
1/2 c butter or margarine
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 medium bananas, mashed
4 T buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 c lentil puree
1 t vanilla
2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c chopped nuts

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, beat well. Add well-mashed bananas and beat. Add sour milk and lentil puree. Add vanilla and dry ingredients and mix by hand. Add nuts.

Fill well-greased muffin tins 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until tops spring back to touch.

Surprise! They were good. The banana (I only used one; also found in the freezer) covered any lentil taste very well. We both liked them. Brian said they tasted healthy, but I informed him that beside the lentils, they really were not very healthy at all. A cup of sugar and 1/2 cup butter? Too much. I made them as written for testing purposes, but I think they would be fine with substituting half the butter with applesauce and using much less sugar, like half. You could probably also use regular oil instead of butter. I did use at least half whole wheat flour, which was good. I sprinkled the tops with turbinado sugar because I'm trying to find ways to use it, and I liked that. Oh, I omitted the nuts because I never buy them, though they would be good with them.

So, the moral of the story is that if you have extra lentils, give these muffins a try, and feel free to healthify them.