Double chocolate, banana and walnut muffins

I was in the mood for something sweet today, but wanted to add a little pizazz (and a little healthiness..... maybe?) to my usual chocolate cupcakes. I'll admit that they could definitely be made even healthier by using whole grain flour and possibly using something in place of the sugar, but I did cut the amount of sugar in half from the original recipe, added a large banana and some chopped walnuts.... healthier right? haha

You will need:

1.5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup of water
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin tin.
In a large bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir in sugar, walnuts, and chocolate chips. In a small bowl, mash the banana and add the oil. Mix with an electric mixer on low/medium until fairly smooth. Add vanilla, water and lemon juice and give it a little mix just to combine everything. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Divide evenly amongst the muffin tin. Bake for approximately 18 minutes (when a knife is inserted and comes out clean, they are done).