Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips

Much of my life is spent in a constant struggle between wanting to shove cake in my face every five minutes and wanting to live solely on green smoothies, salads & protein shakes.  And believe me when I say I fluctuate every day between the two mindsets.  This is the life I lead, people. 

So when I find something that is both healthy and lets me have chocolate (especially for breakfast), I am sold.  Enter these Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips.  These are pretty healthy & tasty and give you a great boost of energy in the morning.  Plus they are a great way to use up any bananas you have that are on the brink of extinction.  I like them warm so that the chocolate chips are all melty and glorious, so feel free to pop any leftover oatmeal cups in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before you head out the door.  Disclaimer: these are definitely not meant to be as sweet as a muffin or a cupcake, so if you like things extra sweet you may want to add a sweetener of some kind to the batter.  I added some sweetened shredded coconut to half this batter and loved it!

This recipe is also the perfect reason to introduce you to one of my favorite things: PB2 powdered peanut butter.  It adds all the flavor of peanut butter with but with less fat calories than normal peanut butter.  They have a chocolate peanut butter flavor, too, which is great mixed with plain Greek yogurt or in your
morning protein shake.  Peanut butter-banana-chocolate is one of my all-time favorite combos, so I threw some in these oatmeal cups because I was feeling extra sassy.

And after you make these, don't forget to head over to GreenLiteBites to check out her other variations on oatmeal cups!

Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips:
Adapted from GreenLiteBites
Makes 15 oatmeal cups
 
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup vanilla almond milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups Old Fashioned or Rolled Oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons PB2 powdered peanut butter (optional)
1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut (optional)
3 T mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a muffin pan and/or muffin liners with non-stick baking spray.  Mix together all ingredients and let sit for a few minutes.  Stir one last time and divide the batter evenly into 15 muffin cups.  Bake for 20-22 minutes or until edges are golden brown and the middles are firm to the touch.  Enjoy!