Healthy Breakfast Cookies

Sorry that we have been so absent lately! Although things are quiet here, we have been posting a ton of recipes as well as healthy meal ideas on our instagram account. Give us a follow over there if you like and we will try to be a bit better at blogging our recipes over here as well!  

I think a cookie recipe is a great way to bring this old blog back to life don't ya think? I thought so too. My friend brought over some of these cookies a while ago and I have been craving them ever since! We finally got around to making some today and the hardest part was not eating them all off the plate! I know they are healthy, but a treat is STILL a treat (that is what I have to tell myself). They will last a week on the counter, or up to 3 months in the freezer. I say that like you will actually have them for sitting around for that long. Not likely. 

Ingredients 

2 cups gluten free quick oats

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup nut butter (I used peanut butter)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 large banana, mashed

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 flax seeds

1/4 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

Directions 

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Combine all of the above ingredients in a large bowl or a stand mixer. Mix until well combined. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet and flatten the tops. They will not spread out while baking. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Allow to cool on cookie sheet before removing or they will fall apart. Try not to eat the whole plate. Enjoy! - Alex

*Slightly adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction*

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Slightly adapted from recipe found at Baker Bettie 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups dried rolled oats

2-3 rip bananas

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chocolate chips (Use Enjoy Life to make dairy free)

Banana slices for garnish if desired

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a bread pan and set aside. Place the oats in a blender or food processor and blend until fine and floury. Add all remaining ingredients except the chocolate chips and blend until well combined. Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and pour the batter into your bread pan. Top with banana slices and the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

- Arianne

No Bake Energy Bites

These are a perfect healthy snack! Super delicious and assembly takes mere minutes. They are just sweet enough that you don't feel the need to gorge yourself on them. Why did it take me so long to try these??

Original recipe found at Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients

1 cup dry oatmeal

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/3 cup honey or maple syrup 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Press into golf-balled sized balls. Refrigerate or throw in the freezer.

Enjoy!

- Arianne

Clean Eating Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Heathy cookies never really sound terribly appealing, but I thought I'd give these a shot. Turns out they are very appealing! So simple and tasty

Original recipe found at Foods for the Soul

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, vanilla, and honey. Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry. Fold in the blueberries. Chill the dough for about 20 minutes, while the oven pre-heats to 325F. 

Drop onto a baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake for 13-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

- Arianne

Chocolate Lara Bars/Bites

These tasty morsels are the perfect little healthy treat to have around. Their delicious, sweet, chocolatey flavour will have you coming back for more. And I'm not even a huge chocolate fan!

Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie's Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup almonds

2 cups pitted dates

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons cocoa

1/16 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until it forms into a solid mass. Roll into bite-sized balls, or flatten and cut into bars after it has cooled. Store in refrigerator.

Enjoy!

- Arianne

Healthy Graham Cracker Pie Crust

If you're like me and don't really prefer regular pie crust, this is a great alternative! Not only is it easier, quicker, and more tasty, it is also healthier than regular pie crust! So, here it is - in honour of "Pi Day"!

Original Recipe From undressedskeleton

Ingredients

1 Cup graham cracker crumbs

1 Tablespoon honey

2 medium bananas

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place bananas in a small bowl and mash with a fork. Mix all ingredients in an electric mixer on low for 3 minutes. Slowly increase speed until mixture forms a dough texture. Place the dough in a greased pie pan. Start with the dough in the centre and use fingertips to spread throughout the pan. Wet fingers if necessary to keep from sticking. Add pie filling of your liking (mine is blueberry). Bake pie for 20-25 minutes or until crust is lightly brown.

Enjoy
and Happy Pi Day!

- Arianne

Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies

Alright so here it is: The greatly anticipated no flour, no sugar, no butter, no eggs, no oil cookies! Or simply put - Peanut Butter Chickpea cookies.

While one might think that the words chickpea and cookies should never appear in the same sentence, I've learned that it's quite alright to put them in the same recipe!

Original recipe found on Texanerin

Photograph by Everglow Photography

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter

1/4 cup of honey

1 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks - gluten + dairy free!)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients except for chocolate chips in a food processor and blend until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips (in a new bowl if needs be). With wet hands, form into about golf-ball-sized balls. Press down slightly. The cookies will not raise or spread at all while baking. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
Enjoy- Arianne

Homemade Dehydrated Macaroons (3 kinds!)

Oh these are good! My friend Leslie lovingly made these for me once and since then, I've been hooked! I don't have a dehydrator, but I am seriously considering getting one after tasting these! 

They are homemade macaroons. Addictive, chewy, insanely delicious and HEALTHY!

Thank you Leslie for making a fresh batch today that we could feature on our blog! 

The orange chocolate ones are good (they taste just like the chocolate oranges that come out at Christmas time), but he lemon macaroons are my favourite! 

My 16 month old would BARELY let us even take a picture before grabbing one off the plate. 

But we understood, because they are pretty much irresistible! 

    Photographs by Everglow Photography

Ingredients and Directions

Macaroons

3 cups shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups cashew or almond flour. (Can be made in the vitamix; it doesn't have to be smooth  - there can be chunks.)

1 cup pure maple syrup

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix together and make 1 teaspoon sized cookies. Put in dehydrator at 115 degrees for about 24 hours or until desired doneness.

Lemon Macaroons :

1 cup cashew or almond flour

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup coconut

1/4 cup agave or pure maple syrup

Mix together and form into 1 teaspoon sized cookies. Put in dehydrator at 115 degrees for about 24 hours or until desired doneness.

Orange Macaroons

1 cup cashew or almond flour

1 cup coconut

zest of 1/2 an orange

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup agave or pure maple syrup

1/3 cup cocoa

Mix together and form into 1 teaspoon sized cookies. Put in dehydrator at 115 degrees for about 24 hours or until desired doneness. Enjoy! - Alex