Plantain Recovery Muffins

I made a post a while ago about my obsession with avocados - NOW I am going to talk about my obsession with plantains.  Since going pretty much Paleo, plantains have been my go-to source of carbohydrates.  They are super versatile food and can be eaten at all stages of ripeness (unlike a banana, which you don't want to eat in the green stage).  When cooked from the green stage, plantains are not yet sweet and can be used to make breads and as a rice substitute.  In the riper stages, when the plantains are yellow to brown, they can be used to make sweeter-tasting muffins and pancakes.  Today's recipe will be using green to yellow plantains (so not super ripe) for a delicious and easy workout recovery snack.

Recently, I have been re-focusing my workouts away from the Crossfit I have been doing for over 2 years.  About 1 year ago, I learned that I had torn a small piece of cartilage under my knee cap (a chondral flap for the doctors out there).  Unfortunately, this was going to need to be surgically fixed because it couldn't easily heal on its own.  The day after returning from our honeymoon this past summer, I got the arthroscopic surgery and things seemed much better!  But then...I developed patella tendonitis in September after jumping back into Crossfit.  It took me a long time, but I have learned that pushing through injuries is not worth it in the long run.  I want to have pain-free, functional joints in 20+ years and am now listening more to my body in order to make sure I achieve that.  

This month I have gotten back into doing yoga (hot vinyasa), swimming, and running - All of which feel GREAT with my knee.   Making this transition has also made me rethink my nutrition plan because high protein is not a priority without the intense strength training I was doing in Crossfit.  These recover muffins have about a 4.5:1 carbohydrates to protein ratio.  From my research, I generally find that a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio is ideal for recovery.  So these muffins are pretty close!  Just remember that amount of nutrition you need post workout is entirely dependent on the length and intensity of your workout session.

It took me several tries to perfect these, but the end result is a perfectly fluffy and slightly sweet muffin!

Plantain Recovery Muffins

Yield: 7 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 large plantain (in the stage of green, but turning yellow)
• 1/2 cup sweet potato puree
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 scoop (25 g) protein powder (I used Sunwarrior's Natural Blend - All plant based & unsweetened)
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Peel and chop your plantain into 4 pieces.
3. Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.  You may need to scrape down the sides once or twice.
4. Grease a muffin tin with some coconut oil.
5. Divide the batter into about 7 muffin cups - Each cup should be about full with batter.
6. Place muffin tin in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

*Nutritional information per muffin (Sunwarrior protein powder & 2 Tablespoons maple syrup)

Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
107	14 g	4.2 g	3 g

-Brought to you from Erin's Kitchen