Banana Bread Cookies

This is by far my favorite healthy cookie recipe because it's so simple but comes out delicious every time! If you're a huge fan of banana bread then you'll love these because it literally tastes like banana bread in little cookie form. I had seen a posting of this recipe a couple years ago on Pinterest but the picture and pin didn't link back to an actual site. I've googled it before and it looks like tons of people have claimed credit for this recipe so I'm not sure who to give credit to but if you're out there, thank you very much!

I wish I could say I was the genius who developed this recipe but sadly I can't although that won't stop me from sharing it with you! I have played around with it before, though, with certain add-ins so I guess that means I've sorta contributed to the recipe, right? Well I did say sort of.

Anyway, it's really easy and you only need 2 ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1 cup oats

Voila! I'm not kidding, it's that simple! I've made this recipe plenty of times before so I've made some adjustments to make it my own. Here's the recipe I follow:
2 ripe bananas
1 cup oats
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp of cinnamon (mostly just a sprinkle)

That's just to make them plain but you can add in whatever you like to make them more like cookies. I've done semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, walnuts, dried cranberries, and fresh blueberries! You could also do cocoa powder to make them chocolate, almond butter, or peanut butter/PB2 to get peanut butter cookies maybe even more cinnamon to get a snicker doodle-type taste. Actually I'm giving myself some ideas as I type this...

1. Preheat the oven to 350

2. Mash the bananas and add the rest of the ingredients + any add-ins you would like

3. Place on a greased baking sheet or a sheet lined with silpat.
You should get around 14 tablespoon-sized
cookies

4. Bake for about 11-14 minutes depending on your oven.

The cookies won't spread out or brown all that much on top so you have to check the bottoms. When they're firm and lightly golden then you know they're done!

5. Eat immediately!

My favorite is when they're fresh from the oven and still warm. I drizzle an extra bit of honey and sometimes will sneak extra cinnamon or chocolate chips on top. Trust me, they're delicious! You won't even know how healthy they are for you and the nutrition facts will leave you feeling guilt-free:

***calories per cookie: 38, 8g carbs, 0.5g fat, and 1g of protein (this is without any add-ins)

Nom nom nom nommmm

Enjoy!!

Squash & Spinach Medley

I love trying out new recipes and learning about what works and doesn't work when cooking but most of the time I don't have anything fancy for dinner. I'm perfectly happy with a simple protein dish and veggies on the side! Typically what my dinner looks like is some kind of chicken, fish, or lean turkey with a vegetable and carb. It might be boring or too standard for someone else but the key is to switch up the flavors! Sometimes we'll do spicy chicken or add asian flavors or cook the vegetables a different way.

Last night was a typical dinner night with a chicken dish and veggies. I made one of my favorite chicken recipes Chicken Pesto Bake and didn't know what to make as a side. I checked the fridge and we had zucchini, squash, and spinach so I thought it would be tasty to have a medley of all three!

It was really easy to throw together and the timing worked perfectly with the chicken. Once I put the chicken in the oven it took about 20 minutes to cook which was just the amount I needed to prep the zucchini and squash then get it cooked.

What you'll need:
1 medium zucchini
1 medium squash
6 cups spinach
2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop up the zucchini and squash and cook over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Once the zucchini-squash is about 3/4 of the way cooked, add the spinach and cover the pan until the spinach wilts.

3. Add in the garlic and cook for another couple minutes until all the veggies are cooked

 I ended up getting a lot more zucchini and squash than I thought once I cooked it up but it's great to have leftovers!

Example A: I got to put some extra on my salad for lunch the next day! This salad had egg whites, tomatoes, mixed greens, grapes, peppers, and dried apricots. 

It was also an exciting day because I was finally able to go to the backyard to get the fresh herbs my sister has been growing in her garden! I love being able to just go out the back door and have fresh herbs and vegetables at my fingertips. I also love that I get to reap the benefits without having to do any of the work :)

3 Miles & Peanut Butter Smoothie!

It's been a great start to the day so far! This morning was in the low 60s which was the perfect temperature for a run. So I grabbed Layla and we headed out the door for our Tuesday run. I even bumped it up to 3 miles this week and she did great! I'm telling you it still surprises me how much she loves to run because for an 8 month old puppy she can be pretty lazy. And by pretty I mean extremely since she's awake for a maximum of like 6 hours a day. No complaints though because with my mom the last thing we would need is a hyperactive puppy around her.

When we got back it was time for some post-workout fuel. For Layla she got frozen carrots and for myself a delicious smoothie! I knew it was meant to be when I found out that Layla shares my obsession with carrots. When she was teething we used to give her frozen carrots to chew on and she still loves them so I give them to her as a treat after our runs. 

My smoothie had: 

2 cups almond milk

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 medium banana

1 tbsp homemade honey roasted peanut butter

I forgot to take a picture of my smoothie before I gobbled it down plus I was busy snapping a picture of this little cutie pie. 

I mean, come on, would you rather see a picture of a smoothie or a puppy anyway? 

I doubt the smoothie would even stand a chance ;)

Just to add to the cuteness here's a picture my sister snagged on our daily walk last night. Amanda won't let me get another dog so often times I kidnap our aunt's dog Lola so I can pretend we have two. Lola is actually Layla's older half sister since we got them from the same place. She was so perfect that we decided we wanted one of our own! 

Hope you're all having a great start to the week so far :)