skinny chunky monkey cookies

I found this recipe floating around on Facebook. May be worth a try? :)

Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies
(Makes 30 cookies)

3 ripe bananas
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mash bananas in a large bowl, then stir in remaining ingredients. Let batter stand for approximately 20 minutes, then drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Freezing Directions:
Cool completely, then place cookies in a freezer bag. Seal, label, and freeze.

Nutritional Information (per cookie):
47 calories; 7.5 g carbs; 1.6 g fat; 1.5 g protein; 1.3 g fiber; 1

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Cookies

You guys! These cookies are totally legal!! You can make them and eat the entire batch for breakfast and not even feel bad about it (that's what I did today, actually). These totally satisfy my craving for a warm, soft, chewy cookie with absolutely none of the guilt after I eat six of them. I am so happy about this I want to sing!

Nutritionally, this is like eating a bowl of oatmeal, minus the milk. The walnuts give you essential omega-3 fatty acids, and you're getting a serving of fruit from the banana, and whole grains from the oats. The other nice thing about this is it's totally adaptable. You can put whatever you want in them. The first time I made them I only used a banana, oats and chopped walnuts and they were still good!

Are you ready for the best part? If you make these as described below, the entire batch only has about 400 calories.  If you just make the basic cookie with only the banana and oats it's about 240 calories for 6-8 cookies. I know. I know. You can thank me later.

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Cookie base:

1 ripe banana, mashed

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs quick oats

The above ingredients are actually all you need, but I added a few extras:

dash of salt

splash of vanilla

2 Tbs chopped walnuts

1 1/2 Tbs craisins

1 1/2 Tbs shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together ingredients. Form into cookie shapes and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray (they will stick to the pan without one of these precautions). These don't change shape, puff or rise while baking, so form them into the shape you want them to end up. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes 6-8 cookies.

Green Smoothies

This is one of my favorite ways to get in 4-5 servings of fruits and veggies in one pop. It's so easy for breakfast when I'm running out the door, and it makes me feel great to know I'm drinking so much nutrition in one bottle! I usually make this smoothie (or something similar) and pour it into a 32 oz Nalgene bottle - it fills the whole thing.

I hate to provide an actual recipe because this is totally adaptable to what you have on hand or what you think would taste good. I've made several different versions and it's never exactly the same. I used to use a little agave nectar to sweeten but now I've gotten used to these and I rarely do. Just get creative and give it a try! Here is one I've been making this week.

1 small-medium orange, peeled
1 small-medium banana, peeled
handful of strawberries (5-6 berries)
large handful of spinach or kale (3/4-1 cup)
1/4 cucumber (1/4 cup)
small handful of baby carrots (1/3 cup)
1 Tbs ground flax seeds, chia seeds, or other power ingredients of your choice
4-5 large ice cubes
water to cover about halfway (you can add more during blending if needed)

Blend it all up and drink!