Do your kids like kale? Neither do ours! But they love these kale oat muffins!
From prepping and washing the kale, to mixing the muffins, kids can help every step along the way and eagerly gobble up the reward.
As you know, we don’t advocate hiding veggies, but we do recommend finding kid-friendly ways to increase exposure to them.
These easy-to-make muffins will do just that while you work toward getting them to enjoy kale in other cruciferous forms.
Why Kale?
Kale might be the last thing you think of when you’re looking for a muffin recipe. However, this cruciferous vegetable is one of the healthiest on the planet. Cruciferous veggies like kale are packed with fiber, vitamins C and K, and folate (vitamin B9).
Cruciferous vegetables also contain a compound called sulforaphane, which is linked to benefits for heart and digestive health, and blood sugar regulation. Sulforaphone may also have anticancer and antioxidant activity.
Adding kale into a muffin combines it with a familiar food your child might already enjoy eating. The maple syrup and bananas add just enough sweetness to the muffin to balance out the kale. Plus, the oats add a healthy dose of fiber that keeps little tummies full as they go off to school.
These Kale Oat Muffins would be great to serve for breakfast along with some fruit, packed into a lunch box, or easily brought along for a healthy snack at the park.
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Kale Oat Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour (grind rolled oats in a blender)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large, ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
- 3 Tablespoons warm water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (we recommend ceylon cinnamon)
- 3 cups kale (with stems removed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, mix together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.2 cups oat flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a blender, puree bananas, maple syrup, oil, ground flaxseed, warm water, vanilla, cinnamon, and kale.2 large, ripe bananas, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 2 Tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil, 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed, 3 Tablespoons warm water, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 cups kale
- Pour wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold together.
- Add to a greased muffin tin and bake at 350 F for about 16 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Oat flour can either be purchased or easily made at home by grinding up rolled oats in a dry high-speed blender. You will need to grind up slightly more than 2 cups of rolled oats in order to yield 2 cups of oat flour.
- These muffins also work with spinach!
More Muffin Recipes:
- Carrot Cake Oat Muffins
- Strawberry Cauliflower Muffins
- Blueberry Walnut Muffin Tops
- PBJ Baby-Led Weaning Muffins
Check Out These Helpful Ideas:
- Should You Hide Vegetables in Your Child’s Meals?
- How to Help Your Child Eat More Vegetables
- Serving Cruciferous Veggies to Kids
- Boosting Green Foods in Your Child’s Diet
Other Recipes With Green Foods:
Need some inspo? Here are some of our favorite ways to offer green foods to our kiddos. Be creative and adjust these per your family’s preferences.
K says
my daughter loves these
Kate says
My 19 mo old and five year old both like these. I replaced some of the maple syrup with date syrup and added frozen wild blueberries. Big hit. Can’t get them to eat any other leafy greens in anything else. Win