my favorite new "cookies"

Wow. I've been a blogger-slacker! I knew it had been a while, but didn't realize it had been since FEBRUARY that I last posted. In the past month or so, I've made a few of my go-to recipes and even tried a new one. I also just realized that I haven't blogged TWO of my most favorite go-to's and therefor.... this is a MUST.

Everyone has a sweet treat snack preference, don't they? In this house, we don't buy cookies too often (unless Mr. Picky picks them up) and I have to be in the mood for them. But these "cookies" are totally different. I stumbled upon them via Pinterest (obviously) but only by mistake. I read the description on a photo and only after pinning, realized that the recipe in the description and the recipe actually attached to the picture were two different things (in hindsight, I am going to attempt the photographed recipe eventually too but, that's for another post).

The recipe listed was as follows:
2 ripe bananas
1 cup of quick cook oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 heaping spoonful of natural peanut butter

I made them this way the first time, exchanging natural peanut butter for the store bought brand I had in the cabinet. Confession: I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter. I mean, here and there, it's fine, and there are some RARE occasions where I actually crave it but overall, it's not a staple in my life. I don't like peanut butter sandwiches either. They were fine this way and I probably could have kept making them this way but then I decided to switch it up and give it my own twist.

Here's what I did:
2-3 really ripe bananas
1 cup of quick cook oats (+ some extra if they feel too wet)
Some chocolate chips
1 heaping spoonful of homemade almond butter

I started making almond butter because it's super expensive to buy and it's pretty easy to make. I just take raw almonds from Trader Joe's and bake them for a little bit, throw them into the food processor with a little bit of sea salt and a little bit of coconut oil to help the process along and wallah... homemade almond butter... the trick to it is cooking the almonds just the right amount of time. Last batch I cooked a little too long and before that, not quite long enough but still edible.

But back to the cookies!

So... take 2-3 really ripe bananas and mash them up. If they are frozen/defrosted, I end up using 3 because I don't end up using the whole thing from each banana since they are almost over mushy. After those are mashed, I add 1 cup of quick cook oats and mix them together. Then, I add a big spoonful of my homemade almond butter and stir them up. If they are more mushy than cookie consistency, I add a little more oats at a time until they have a little bit thicker consistency. Then, you can pretty much add whatever you want. I usually add a handful or two of chocolate chips. If I had coconut, I'd probably add that (YUM) and today, I mixed some dark chocolate and semi sweet chips in. They were leftover so it was an easy go to.

I take about a spoonful of "dough" and roll it into a little ball. Then, I squish them a little bit to flatten them because they don't spread at ALL when you cook them. Throw them on some parchment for about 15 minutes at 350*, let them cool and they are ready to eat.

The BEST part of these cookies? Everything in them is breakfast friendly: oats, bananas, peanut/almond butter.... and who doesn't like chocolate in the morning.... My students LOVE them too and can't get enough. I usually make a batch (about 15 cookies) and just bring them to work. This way, I don't eat too many, the kids get a healthy treat and they don't go bad if I can't eat them all.

Forgot the before pictures...
but here are the after pictures!

Do you think you'd try these cookies? Do you have a favorite go-to, on-the-go breakfast treat?

Happy Fooding!

almond butter & greek yogurt fruit dip

I have a confession. I really like dips. I think they are fun to make, you can make a ton of different kinds for a ton of different things. The possibilities are endless...truthfully. Have you searched "dips" on pinterest? My latest search turned up a red velvet cake batter dip, a Butterfinger fruit dip, a mint chocolate chip cookie dough dip and a pickle wrap dip (what!?) without even scrolling half way down the page. I stumbled upon my latest dip without a specific search. I was poking around in the 'food and drink' category and happened upon a peanut butter greek yogurt fruit dip. Check it out here... It is a fit-sugar recipe so I knew it would be on the healthy side.

When I made my grocery list this weekend, the only item I didn't have that was listed was the vanilla greek yogurt. I had maple syrup (not organic, but since I wasn't sure I would even like the dip, I didn't want to waste money that I don't have) and I had cinnamon on hand (although I kinda really don't like cinnamon but...) and I had peanut butter (not natural but again with the spending unnecessary money thing...). However, while I was playing around in the kitchen today and busting out a bunch of different things, I started thinking about the dip and how I could switch it up with other stuff I had around the house.

Here's what I did.

Ingredients:
6 oz. non fat vanilla greek yogurt (I used one that was on sale 10 for $10... can't pass up a good deal!)
~ 1 tbsp local honey (I really like honey and don't use sugar in my tea anymore. I always have local honey on hand b/c it's tasty and the local kind is supposed to be good for people with allergies)
~ 2 tbsp. homemade almond butter
few dashes of cinnamon
(I used a regular kitchen teaspoon so when I say about a tbsp, I really eyeballed it)

I decided to use almond butter for a few reasons: the first is that I had some on hand that I made myself. I roasted off some raw almonds for 5-7 minutes with a TOUCH of salt, then threw them into the food processor for what felt like FOREVER with a little bit of coconut oil to get them going. If you decide to try making your own almond butter, know going into it that it literally takes a gazillion hours (ok, not quite but for someone who is impatient like me, it seemed that long!) The second reason I decided to use almond butter is because I have a co-worker who I wanted to share my dip with and she has a peanut allergy (although she is in denial about it). Plus, since I am going to bring it to school w/ lunch, it can't hurt to have it peanut free just in case. I have no kids w/ allergies in my classroom (thank god b/c they eat peanut butter like it's going out of style) but it never hurts to be safe!

Anyway...

I took the yogurt, honey and almond butter and stuck it in my magic bullet. In hindsight, I probably should have used the food processor but it was already being used for something else (I cooked/prepared/made about 15 different things today so I used a lot of my gadgets). So I threw it all in there and let it go, stopping to open it up and scrape everything off the sides a few times. When I was happy that everything was mixed together, I threw in a few dashes of cinnamon, screwed the top back on and gave it a few shakes to incorporate the cinnamon. I poured it in one of my cute mini mason jars (I'm a little addicted to them) and stuck it in the fridge. I really liked the almond flavor it has and since I'm not HUGE on peanut butter, I think it was the right choice. I'm going to pair it with some apple slices and maybe even some banana.

The true test will be to give my students a little bit and see what they think. Anything I think they will hate, they usually love (quinoa chips were a huge hit the week before vacation), but then again, boys will usually eat anything... unless it's healthy...

Have you tried any new dips lately?

Happy Fooding!