Banana Oat Cookies

58 Comments / Breakfast, Desserts / By thexpatdietitian

Have you ever prepared for or anticipated something for so long that in the end, nothing can do it justice?

That’s kind of how I feel about this first blog post.

I’ve been planning IT, the BLOG, for an embarrassingly long time. Like 2 years. Or 3, I can’t remember. Part of my hold-up was that I know less about computers and on-line stuff than my 13-year-old daughter. And part of it is that once you put yourself out there, you’re out there… vulnerable! But then I reminded myselfthat probably only my aunts and 5 other people would actually read my first post, and that made me feel better enough to write it.

I resisted the urge to email all my favorite bloggers and ask them what their first post was about… then lo and behold, Alexis Joseph of Hummusapien referred to her very first post in a recent recipe update of Avocado Black Bean Burgers (yum, by the way!) Amazing! Wonderful! Just what I was looking for!

… Then I STILL had no idea what would be “good enough” for my own first post… so I procrastinated 3 more weeks, telling myself I needed to “set some more things up.” Do we all do that? Wait until things are “perfect” or the timing is “right” or we “have our lives in order” before we start something we really want to do? Like eat better… or sign up for a 10K… or write that first blog post!! Sometimes we just need a good kick in the pants, even if we think the stars are not aligned. Go ahead and start eating better, even if it’s not Monday. Go ahead and start training for that 10K, even if you can barely make it around the block today.

Go ahead and write the first blog post, even if my email address WILL. NOT. SHOW UP. AS A LINK. on my Contact Me page.

So today I’m just gonna take that first step, by getting out there and sharing a very simple recipe that has become a staple snack in my household. It occurred to me that this recipe is really almost too simple to post, but one of the reasons I love it is because it’s simple… and knock-down-dead delicious. Perfect for starting out!

It’s also perfect because it’s summer here in Philippines, so when you buy bananas, you inevitably have one or seven that go brown before you can eat them. You could always make banana bread, but if your kitchen is already 40 degrees C (100F), who wants the oven on for an hour?

Not me.

Hence the birth of Banana Oat Cookies. I admit it is sort of a stretch to call them cookies, because they contain no butter, eggs, sugar, or flour. But they are round and chewy and sweet, so the name works for me. Whoa… wait a minute… I just said they contain no butter, eggs, sugar, or flour!! What is in these cookie impostors?? Basically you can look at the title and see what’s in them: bananas and oats, with maybe 3 other ingredients to pop the flavor a bit.

These little dudes are fast to make, delicious, and as I said before, a staple in my house. I eat them plain, with almond butter smeared on top, with apple slices on the side, for breakfastlunchsnackdessert, pre-workout, post-workout… or anytime I’m craving something sweet, chewy, hearty, grainy, and filling… which is often. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these cookies! It’s like eating a bowl of oatmeal with banana.

Only more cookie-like.

And not as hot.

Which is a relief when it’s 32 C (90 F) outside at 8am.

They are also very forgiving of “mistakes” and very accepting of additional ingredients. You wanna add toasted pecans? Be my guest! A handful of chocolate chips? The more the better!! Dried cranberries? Yes, please! I’ve made them with all of the above plus chia seeds, which makes them possibly even more loveable. Oh, that we may all be so flexible and accommodating!

But what really attracts me about these guys is that you can easily wrap your mind around making them, even if you’re not really in the mood. I should time myself whipping them up, because I really think I could do it (baking time not included) in about 47 seconds. But then, I am fast in the kitchen…

So, here is the recipe. Enjoy, and let me know what you think. Here’s to being out there!