Banana Oat Cookies

Confession: I have a major sweet tooth. Like, if I could eat cake all day I probably would. However, a couple of years ago, we found out that my nine year-old sister, Lillian, had Type 1 diabetes. It's been really, really hard on her. At first, she felt ostracized because she couldn't eat what the rest of us could without having a painful shot of insulin. So we decided to give up sugar and white flour so that she wouldn't feel quite so left out. I've been surprised by just how easy it is to cut out sugar and white flour. Eventually, I decided to cut out all flours and breads, which has made a huge difference in not only how I feel and how much energy I have, but also in how I look. I tested out the difference for a month by eating just a little wheat bread and a few things with sugar and then going back to totally cutting them out-- there is definitely a huge difference. When I eat flour and sugar, I feel swollen and bloated. When I don't, I feel light and energetic. If you feel sluggish or just a little heavier than you would like to be, cut out sugar and white flour all together. It's so worth it and there are so many ways to satisfy your sweet cravings AND still eat healthy.

This recipe is the best. It's simple, quick (eighteen minutes start to finish!), super easy to modify, and complies with almost every dietary restriction. It's gluten-free, vegan, sugar- and flour-free, and friendly to diabetics. Also, these cookies are so yummy and taste delicious dipped in almond milk.

Banana Oat Cookies

You'll need:
1 banana
between 1-3 cups of gluten-free oats (depends on how big your banana is; rolled and old-fashioned are both fine)
a dash of cinnamon
stevia or honey
1 tsp of vanilla

The following ingredients are optional suggestions and can be added as you please:
2 tbs flax
chopped/slivered nuts (pecans, macadamia nuts, walnuts, and almonds are good with this recipe)
dried fruit (raisins, pineapple, cranberries, and blueberries are all good dried fruits to try)
a small spoonful of pumpkin puree
coconut shavings
white or dark chocolate chips

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with Pam. Then put your banana in a big bowl and mash the heck out of it. Chunks are going to give the cookies a weird, fiber-y texture, so mash it. Mash it real good.
Cover the banana in oats and stir and mash. If you see banana, add more oats and stir and mash some more. By the time you're done, you should have a bunch of sticky oats but no banana chunks. Add a dash of cinnamon and as much stevia as you please (just keep tasting the mixture until you're satisfied-- but don't eat too much). Add the vanilla and stir it up. Add whatever extras you like.

Spoon clumps of your scrumptious mixture onto the cookie sheet and form little circles. Because there's no yeast, don't count on them changing shape or rising at all so you can place them as close together as you wish. Sometimes if I have a lot to make or I'm in a hurry, I'll just make a solid sheet of the banana oat mix and cut granola bar-shaped rectangles out after they're cooked. Again, just make it however you would like.

Your cookies should be golden brown and have a thin line of dark around the border. It's usually around 10-15 minutes. Just check. You'll know that they're done when you don't have trouble sliding them across the pan. They shouldn't stick any more. When they're done, take them out, let them cool, and enjoy!

Happy eating!