Today I made the perfect breakfast treat. I modified a traditional banana bread recipe to be both healthy and to have a little added flair: shredded coconut. These mini muffins make for a great, quick breakfast – pair them with a fresh fruit salad and some low-fat yogurt and you’ve got yourself a filling morning meal!

Banana-Coconut-Nut Mini Muffins
Makes 24 mini muffins

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup margarine
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup all purpose, 1 cup whole-wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans (or your favorite type of nut), chopped
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 24-cup mini muffin pan.
2. Combine bananas and buttermilk in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream brown sugar and margarine together until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add banana mixture and beat well. Set aside.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add to liquid ingredients and stir until well-blended.
5. Stir in nuts and coconut.
6. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons batter into each cup in the muffin pan.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan. Turn muffins out onto a wire cooling rack an allow to cool completely.

Nutrition facts:
Serving size: 2 muffins
Calories: 210 kcal
Total fat: 10 g
Saturated fat: 3.2 g
Protein 4 g
Carbohydrates 27.4g
Total fiber: 2.2 g
Cholesterol 16 mg
Sodium: 216 mg