Last night, the kids asked to stay up and watch the Super Bowl. We’re not big football people. In fact, I couldn’t even tell you who was playing in the Super Bowl until just a few days ago.
The kids’ school had asked the children to guess the winner of the game, along with the final score. Because of this, Piper was not going to miss the big game. He even talked to me ahead of time about the snacks he wanted to enjoy during the game: carrots, popcorn with butter and salt, cheese, apples. Before the game, we assembled the snacks on a tray (per his request). During the game, we tried our best to explain the rules of football to the kids in between handfuls of popcorn.
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After staying up late on Sunday night, it was hard for me to wake up this morning. And it was even harder for the kids. Monday morning is always rough (which is why I’m such a firm believer in establishing morning routines and prepping food in advance), but the Monday after the Super Bowl is just brutal. I was feeling it. And the kids were feeling it.
I had planned to pack the kids’ lunches in the morning, and make breakfast, since I didn’t get any food prep in before or during the Super Bowl. At precisely 7:05am, I had a coffee-ordained revelation: self-care isn’t just about bubble baths and face masks. Sometimes, many times, self-care is about simplifying life, taking things off my busy plate, and just saying no to being overwhelmed in the first place.
This morning, self-care came via a cereal box (One Degree brand is my favorite and has a super clean ingredient list), a half-gallon container of milk, and a couple of white bowls. Yep, the kids had cereal for breakfast. They poured it themselves, I didn’t have to cook or clean anything, and I even had time to blow dry my hair. It didn’t stop there, either. I also put the lunchboxes back in the cabinet and ordered the kids lunch from school.
I want to do it all and be it all, and asking for help–whether it’s from a person or a box of cereal–isn’t natural for me. This morning, I knew that asking for help was essential; it was a form of self-care and simplifying life in the present. I also knew that cereal and school macaroni and cheese aren’t a true representation of what my kids eat all week.
When I’m not serving cereal for breakfast in the name of motherly/post-Super Bowl self-care, I like to to prep something in advance on the weekend to get us through breakfast, lunch, or snacks for a few days.
Breakfast is definitely the craziest time in our house, even without a late-night Super Bowl party, so being prepared for this meal is always a good choice. I usually prepare one item (such as: pancakes, breakfast cookies, muffins, granola, or hardboiled eggs) to serve for a couple of days, and then stick with basic scrambled eggs and sourdough toast, or yogurt and granola with fruit, or oatmeal for the rest of the week. Smoothies are another easy, nourishing option, which are usually served alongside buttered sourdough toast.
Today’s breakfast/snack cookies are kid-approved, easy to make, make-ahead friendly, and the perfect way to use the pair of ripe bananas sitting on the counter. The cookies are made with nut butter (for protein), bananas (for natural sweetness and a banana flavor), rolled oats (inexpensive, basic, but so good), a hint of maple syrup, flax (the binder, so you can save the eggs for another morning or serve the cookies alongside eggs) and a handful of chocolate chips.
The cookies aren’t overly sweet, so the addition of chocolate chips (try Enjoy Life, or another clean-ingredient brand) makes these cookies feel like a special treat (similar to a chocolate chip pancake breakfast). If you don’t want to add extra sugar (chocolate chips will contain some cane sugar), go with cacao nibs (they are bitter, so expect a not-so-sweet end result). While I haven’t tried this suggestion, I can’t help but think that shredded coconut may be a delicious replacement for the chocolate chips, too. Or maybe dried fruit (like raisins or dried cherries). Hmmmm, next time!
Banana-Oat Breakfast and Snack Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 TB ground flax *
- 5 TB warm water
- 2 medium ripe bananas 230g; scant 1 cup
- 1/2 cup nut butter ** 140g
- 2 TB pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 195g
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips such as: Enjoy Life brand***
- 2 TB chopped nuts such as: walnuts, almonds, or pecans (optional)
Special Equipment:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Optional: I like to spread the rolled oats on the parchment-lined sheet pan, and then toast the oats while the flax egg (next step) sets. This step helps to enhance the flavor of the oats. Toast the oats for 8-10 minutes, until fragrant. Then remove the oats from the oven and proceed on with the following steps.
- Combine the ground flax and warm water in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to gel.
- Mash the banana in the bowl with the flax. Stir in the remaining wet ingredients: nut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts, if using.
- Scoop out the batter using a ¼ cup measure cup (I used an ice cream scooper). The cookies do not spread, so they can be close together on the sheet. Press the cookies down with your fingers or the back of the measuring cup, once on the pan, so they resemble a thick cookie.
- Bake the cookies for 17-20 minutes. The cookies should feel “set” in the middle when gently pressed, and lightly brown around the edges.
- Cool the cookies on the sheet pan for 5 minutes. Then remove the cookies to a rack to cool the rest of the way.
- The cookies are best eaten within 3 days, or store them in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to a week. They also freeze well, and should keep for a couple of months.
I just thought I’d leave a comment about the use of nut butters. I recently read an article on the Mercola.com website that spoke about the testing of various nut butters for the presence of plasticizers and mould releasing agents. This is not mold in the fungus sense, this is a mould used to form plastic into shapes. Manufacturers have to spray a substance into the moulds to aid in getting the completed parts out of the mould easily. The article tested nut butters to find how much of the releasing agents and plasticizers were in the butters. What they found was that Kirkland brand organic peanut butter ranked highest in contamination from these substances! I have been eating this brand of peanut butter for years because it tasted good and was organic. Little did I know!! After reading the article I immediately trashed my inventory. The article recommended never buying nut butters in anything but glass jars. I think these are hard to find. So, what I have started doing is going to the health food store and grinding my own and taking a glass container from home to grind it in to. This does not solve the problem of potentially rancid nuts in the grinder at the store, but it is the best I’ve been able to come up with, so far.
Thank you for sharing, JD. Enjoy the cookies!
Thanks for your healthy ideas. My boyfriend has Parkinson’s and loves these. Mine came out crunchy without added nuts and probably because I never knew about flax-egg mix. I used flax seeds whole as I didn’t know how to grind them. Next time….
You’re welcome, Andy! So glad the recipes are helpful.
These are so delicious AND healthy! I made some last week & again today. I used 1/4 c
peanut butter & 1/4 c almond butter & it worked great!
Would love to send a pic, if I can figure out how‼️?
YAY! So happy you loved it.
LS Team
These are my absolute favorite to make! The kiddos love them and they are great with black coffee!
I have been a follower of your blog and other social media platforms for some time now. I know that rating the recipes are helpful to your blog and readers. I’m a mom of 4, I work full time, and I’m finishing my master’s degree. So, to say I’m busy is an understatement, lol! These breakfast cookies are quick and easy to make, filling and delicious. All of my kids, my hubby, and my co-workers love them! I usually double (or quadruple) the recipe for leftovers to freeze. Thank you for providing so many great recipes for my family and friends.
Ty
These are absolutely delicious! I’m eating one for breakfast with a cup of coffee right now! I also made them with about 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips (my husband isn’t a fan of a lot of chocolate), and we both loved them! I’m going to make a second batch for our daughter at college so she has a great grab and go breakfast option. Thanks for another great recipe!
Awesome, Diana! I’m so glad you’re loving the cookies!
I can’t use flax, so would the egg equivalent be 2?
Hey Suzanne, I believe so.
Hi,
Have just made a couple of batches of these and they’re great. I made them verbatim the first time ’round (excellent as is!), but for the second – since I was making them for gym-ing and very long days at work, added an extra yolk (I used real eggs), and a 1/2 cup of vegan protein powder.
Oh, also upped the nuts a little, added a few gratings of nutmeg and did leave them in for 21min since I prefer them a little firmer.
Thanks for the great recipe.
Nice, Olivia! Thank you for sharing your modifications. Sounds lovely!
I have been making these for about a month as a snack for my hubby to take to work. I do 1/4 of chocolate chips which is plenty of sweet for him. Yesterday I started making them and realized I was out of bananas. I figured I’d try to do it anyway. I increased the nut butter to 1 cup, adde an extra tablespoon of maple syrup, and did 4 tablespoons of crushed nuts instead of 2. Got a text from hubby he likes them! Basically this recipe just rocks!
Sarah, That’s so awesome! Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad the cookies have been such a hit.
Looks good! Can I omit the maple syrup (as I don’t have them) and replace with coconut sugar? If yes, how much cup should I use? Thanks! 🙂
Hey Pat, You probably could use coconut sugar, but I’m not sure if it will sub 1:1 in this particular recipe.
These cookies were really good and I am glad they are guilt free! I added 1/4 cup of Ghirardelli dark chocolate baking chips, and I feel that was enough chocolate for me. I did also toast my oats before mixing them in. My cookies were ready in 19 mins in the oven. Thanks for another great recipe Kristin!
Hey Crystal, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the cookies!
I just made these cookies and they are fantastic! I’ve always used flax seed “egg” as a binder and I love using it because 1) I don’t always have enough eggs and 2) it keeps the recipe vegan. My 5 year old hates bananas and she even loved this cookie when she helped me make this. I added walnuts to the batter and they came out awesome. The toasted oats were still warm so it melted the chocolate a bit when I mixed the batter. Thanks Kristin!
Thank you for coming back to share, Terry. I’m so glad you (and your 5 year-old) loved the cookies!
This is how much I love what you do: didn’t even read the recipe yet, saved it anyway. Because I trust you.
Thank you so much, Amy! I hope you enjoy the cookies!
Really excited to try these when my bananas turn ripe!! I have tried more recipes on your blog than any other and have been so happy with each one. ❤️
Thank you so much, Lia! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes.
Wow are these good! I had to use an egg because I didn’t have flax and they turned out great. Your recipes are always spot on. Thanks, Kristin. Happy Thursday.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying them, JoAnn! And thank you for sharing about using an egg-it’s so good to know that it worked out!
You’ve got another home run with these! I already love oatmeal but my kids gag at the very sight. I think these may be a great transition. My 5 year old snatched one off the cooling rack and it was gone in minutes. Hopefully they can learn to love oatmeal but in the meantime these are just as healthy and seriously yummy. And as a bonus I’ll be the best mom ever when I tell them they can have cookies for breakfast tomorrow.
Hey, Katie! I’m so glad your little one loved the cookies. And I love that you haven’t given up on oatmeal with the kids, just because they don’t like it served in one particular way. That’s so awesome!