Banana Almond Muffins

This is a super healthy muffin recipe that I got from Joy Bauer's book, Food Cures. She says it only has 180 calories per muffin; it has 4 grams of protein and 4g of fiber, which is always nice.

Ingredients:

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C reduced-fat margarine or butter, softened

2 egg whites

3 bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 C)

1/4 C water

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C barley flour (I didn't have this, so I just used regular flour)

1/2 C ground flaxseed

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix the sugar and butter. Add the egg whites, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the banana, water, almond extract, and vanilla.

3. In a small bowl mix together the dry ingredients and then stir them into the other mix until the flour is just combined--do not overmix.

4. Fill each muffin cup half full with the batter. Bake 13-16 minutes until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

5. Turn the muffins out on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, the muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 mo.

Enjoy!