For many the start of a brand new year often brings about
expectations of change and the cliché ‘New year, new me’ scenario. Although often these goals may get off to a
good start, come February they slowly start to lapse and may eventually fizzle
out.
This year instead of making unrealistic goals, I decided to
try and make small lifestyle changes in the hope that they would stick and
eventually lead to better things! On my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I
chose to seek alternatives to some of the ‘naughty but nice’ foods rather than
cutting them out completely.
After a bit of research and a few adaptations and tweaks I
discovered a recipe for healthy vegan cookies. Although they are not as sweet
as the average cookie, they’re tasty so you feel like you’re having a treat,
when in reality they are made of nothing but healthy ingredients!
Makes 8 - 10 cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 ripe banana mashed
1 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup linseed (or flaxseed)
2 heaped tbsp cocnut oil
1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp almond butter or sunflower oil
1 - 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, ginger and course sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
5 squares dark chocolate chopped
(2 tbsp cocoa powder)
1. Preheat the oven to 170c
2. Next mash half a ripe banana and set to one side
3. Chop the dark chocolate into small chunks or alternatively use chocolate chips. If you are not vegan feel free to use milk or white chocolate as a slightly sweeter option.
4. Place the coconut oil in a saucepan on a low heat until melted.
5. Add the syrup, spices and salt to the saucepan still on a low heat and stir until fully combined.
6. If like me you don't have ready ground almonds, place whole almonds in a food processor and blend to a fine consistency.
7. In a large mixing bowl combine the ground almonds, linseed and baking powder. Next add the mashed banana, chocolate chunks and butter/oil and lightly mix.
8. Add the melted wet ingredients to the mixing bowl, stirring until evenly mixed and the ingredients are sticking together.
9. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and place a tablespoon size portion for each cookie onto the sheet.
10. lightly press down on the dough using a fork to create a rounded cookie shape.
11. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until golden and allow to cool before serving.
For a slightly more chocolatey take on the cookies (my personal favourite) try replacing the ground ginger and cinnamon for 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. You may need to add a little water if the mixture is too dry.
