Banana Berry Oatmeal Muffins

These banana berry muffins are the perfect after school snack for the kids or for a grab and go breakfast on your way out the door. This healthier version is made with bananas, blueberries, strawberries and unsweetened applesauce.

This Banana Berry Muffin post is a project of The Women Bloggers and Kendal King Group on behalf of our client.

When Jonathan was younger our cabinets used to be stocked full of baby cereal. He was our first baby, and I was excited when it was time to start him on food, but as time went on, I realized the amount of oatmeal cereal I bought was way over the amount that he would eat. I would mix the oatmeal in with stage 1 and 2 baby foods as he got older, but the supply never seemed to dwindle down, and before I knew it the expiration dates were right around the corner. I would gift the boxes to friends as they would come over, and the rest I would donate to the food pantry.

Until this past week I never thought to make recipes using leftover  baby cereal, and was surprised how many things I could make by substituting certain ingredients for Gerber cereal. Gerber oatmeal cereal is not just for babies, but can be used as a recipe substitute as well like in these banana blueberry muffins.

This past week I have been trying out the four different varieties of Gerber cereals that can be found at Walmart: Oatmeal Cereal Single-Grain, Multigrain Cereal, Oatmeal & Banana Cereal, Lil’ Bits Oatmeal Banana Strawberry. I have mixed the cereals in with a number of smoothies and also with muffins.

Substitute sugar for Apple Sauce.

The kids love banana blueberry muffins for breakfast and in an attempt to make a “better for you” version. I not only substituted the sugar for applesauce, but I used a cup of oatmeal cereal and decreased the flour by one cup to make these banana applesauce oatmeal muffins. The infant cereals are nutrient-rich and provide a VitaBlocks® blend of six B Vitamins, Vitamins E and C, Iron, Zinc and Calcium for healthy growth and development.

Banana Berry Muffins

What you’ll need to make these banana applesauce oatmeal muffins:

• 1/2 cup diced strawberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 1/2 ripe bananas –  mashed
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup Gerber oatmeal cereal
• 2 T baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mix all wet ingredients (bananas, applesauce, vanilla, milk, egg). In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, oatmeal cereal, baking powder, salt).
3. Combine wet & dry ingredients & mix until moist.
4. Gently fold in strawberries and blueberries.
5. Spoon into cupcake pan.
6. Bake until light golden on top, about 16-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Scroll down to the bottom for a printable version of this Banana Berry Muffin recipe.

These healthy muffins are bursting with flavor from the fresh blueberries,bananas and strawberries.

Banana Berry Muffins

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup diced strawberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 1/2 ripe bananas - mashed
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup Gerber oatmeal cereal
• 2 T baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, mix all wet ingredients (bananas, applesauce, vanilla, milk, egg). In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, oatmeal cereal, baking powder, salt).
• Combine wet & dry ingredients & mix until moist.
• Gently fold in strawberries and blueberries.
• Spoon into cupcake pan.
• Bake until light golden on top, about 16-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I know I’m not the only one that struggles with leftover baby cereal. Next time you have extra in the cabinet, make Banana Berry Muffins or look for recipes using baby cereal, like these Sweet and Savory Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal Crepes.

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