Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Butter Cookies {GF/Vegan}

Anyone else here guilty of eating raw cookie dough straight from the bowl?

I know I'm guilty!

Well, you can be sure you will want to eat the entire batch of these cookies
straight from the bowl. They are THAT good!

My toddler sat at the table and licked the bowl and spoon clean. That's my girl!

And I didn't feel a bit guilty about letting her eat lots of that cookie batter because
it is full of all sorts of healthy stuff. ;)

You're in for a treat...

Sweetened with ripe bananas.

Thickened and infused with nut butter goodness.

Gluten-free.

Vegan. No eggs, butter, or milk.

With a delicious combination of coconut and dark chocolate...

Is that drool on your chin? ;)

Anyways, you are going to love these cookies!
You won't regret making these. Your kids won't regret it.
The hubby won't regret it. Your waistline won't regret it.

It's really a win-win all around. ;)

Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Butter Cookies
{GF, Vegan}

Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 1 dozen cookies
Nutrition (per cookie):
Calories (107), Fat (7.5g), Carbs (9.4g), Protein (1.8g), Fiber (1.6g), Sugars (4.7g)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 large, very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c. nut butter (I used a mix of homemade PB and almond butter)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. old-fashioned oats (use gluten-free oats)
• 1/4 c. almond flour (ground from raw almonds - can also use oat flour)
• 1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• pinch salt
• pinch cinnamon
• 1/4 c. - 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (vegan chocolate chips if you want a completely vegan cookie)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together the mashed banana, nut butter, and vanilla extract. 
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine the oats, almond flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. 
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and drop in spoonfuls onto a baking sheet sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes until the cookies have set and are no longer mushy.
5. Indulge (without any guilt!) :)

Note: Cookies will keep best in an airtight container in the fridge. Feel free to warm them up for a few seconds before enjoying! 

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins with Cinnamon Coconut Streusel

Who here loves blueberries?!
I do I do!

I adore blueberries. They are super cute and super sweet!
I love adding them to everything: Oatmeal, cookies, muffins, breads...
Or just popping a handful of them into my mouth. Yum!

And not only are they delicious, they are a "superfood" meaning they
are packed with tons of health benefits, including antioxidants, which
protect our bodies from cell-damaging substances called free radicals.

So there you go! A wonderful fruit that is delicious AND super healthy. :)

To show my love of all things blueberry, I wanted to make a healthy, delicious
oatmeal muffin packed with this delicious little fruit. :)

This muffin also has applesauce instead of oil! Awesome!
Feel free to grab one of these as a quick, healthy breakfast when you're on-the-go.
Or grab one as a snack during the day. Or when you have a craving for sweets!

Yep that's the good stuff right there.
By the way...please ignore the green-ish appearance of these delicious muffins.

They turned out green-ish looking because I used frozen blueberries instead of fresh
so the frozen juices on the outside of the berries dispersed throughout the batter,
making it appear green! (Maybe you could make these for St. Patty's Day? :) )

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

  with Cinnamon Coconut Streusel

Inspired By: Ambitious Kitchen

Total Time: 25-30 minutes

Yield: 12 muffins

Nutrition (per muffin):

Calories (130), Fat (3.1g), Carbs (24.1g), Protein (3.2g), Fiber (3.1g), Sugars (5.7g)

High in vitamin B6

Ingredients:

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. raw honey, softened
• 1 egg, beaten (could use a flax egg)
• 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)

For the streusel:

• 3 Tbsp. old-fashioned oats
• 1 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil

To make streusel:

• In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, shredded coconut, and coconut oil. I like to mush it all together with my fingers (clean fingers of course!) to make sure the coconut oil gets distributed evenly throughout the streusel. The streusel will be crumbly.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a small bowl mix the applesauce, brown sugar, raw honey, eggs, and almond milk. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.
4. Distribute the batter evenly between a 12-cup muffin tin lined with paper muffin-liners or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of streusel over each muffin and bake in oven for about 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin's center comes out clean.

I really hope you enjoy these muffins as much as I do! :)