OATMEAL BREAKFAST COOKIES

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We love oatmeal cookies, but I don’t love the idea of all the refined sugar they usually contain. I also don’t like the taste of stevia sweeteners alone in a recipe, so I’ve created this healthier version of an oatmeal cookie that doubles perfectly as a breakfast item on-the-go.

I took out 2/3 of the refined sugar and replaced the remaining 1/3 with 100% pure maple syrup and a small amount of stevia.

And don’t take me wrong here – we still get our fair share of sugar, but I try to cut it out where we can. For example, I don’t buy soft drinks and when we eat out, we all get water with lemon (and our bill is about $15 cheaper). They get to have their sweet tea and soft drinks on occasions when we attend events and birthday parties or when we visit other people’s houses (which is more often than you’d think).

Sugar overload is basically something that I try not to make a part of our everyday life, but more like a weekly or bi-weekly thing. If most of us really take an inventory of what we’re eating, we’ll probably find that we’re eating way more sugar than necessary.

I also make desserts at home, so don’t think for one minute that my kids are deprived of “life’s sweets.” I simply try to limit our intake of all those things, and I think we can all agree on the reasons why.

Yes, these cookies also contain 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (you can certainly leave them out if you’d like). I prefer the smaller-sized chocolate chips because they spread out further to make it seem like there’s more than in reality. The good news is that there are brands out there making chocolate chips with wholesome ingredients, such as Enjoy Life and now even Nestle!

Get them here: Walmart or Amazon

For all the goodness in these cookies, I’m breaking it down for you to see some of the nutritious ingredients and where you can find them.

Rolled Oats

With 7g protein per 1/2 cup of these little guys, they’re also a powerhouse for soluble fiber. Despite the carbohydrate content that most people are afraid of, they only contain 1g of sugar, and have proven to help lower blood sugar levels in diabetic studies. (source link below)

The breakdown and fermentation of beta-glucan oat fiber has also been reported to increase the diversity of gut microbiota. This may in turn improve certain digestive issues such as diarrhea, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome.” Harvard.edu

They’re naturally gluten-free; however, modern-day equipment used for cutting oats is also used for cutting wheat that contains gluten. For that reason, I suggest buying a brand that is certified gluten-free.

Look for organic or non-gmo brands, such as Bob’s Red mill. Quaker brand has recently been non-GMO verified. I use these same rolled oats for overnight oats, and I use their quick-cooking instant oats for one-minute cooked oatmeal.

I buy the Bob’s Red Mill brand at our neighborhood Walmart for about $7 for a 32 oz bag, and they’re also available at Rouse’s grocery stores that carry specialty and gluten-free items.

Get it here: Walmart or Amazon (4-pack)

Tip: Instant oats are the same thing as rolled oats except that they’re cut up smaller to cook faster. You can achieve this yourself by processing them in a mixer (like a Ninja).

100% Pure Maple Syrup

Up in ranks with black strap molasses and date sugar, 100% maple syrup is a naturally unrefined sweetener containing large amounts of antioxidants, even more than honey. It contains more nutrients than most common sweeteners by far, and of course isn’t toxic to our bodies like corn syrup (which is what you’ll find in most “pancake syrups”).
Chart provided by the NY State Maple Association

Unfortunately, maple syrup can be quite expensive depending on where you buy it. We don’t have a Costco, but I heard they have great prices. Our Samsclub sells it for roughly $9 for a 32 oz, which is the cheapest I’ve seen anywhere. Adjust your budget, and you’ll find it’s WORTH every single penny.

Tip: Store maple syrup in the fridge to prevent mold!

Hemp Hearts

This is just an all-around great addition to every bowl and recipe of anything worth adding to. I put these in our overnight oats, as well as cooked oatmeal. They have a nutty flavor, and Ernie says they taste like sunflower seeds. 10 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, plus 45% of your magnesium and phosphorus, 110% of your manganese, 20% of your iron and zinc, 8% of your B6 and Folate, and 2% of your calcium.

Get it here: Wal-Mart or Amazon (orange or green pack is good)

Cinnamon

One really neat thing I noticed about cinnamon is that if you sprinkle it on fruit that turns brown naturally (like apples or bananas), they don’t turn brown. This is mostly due to its high antioxidant properties!

In a study that compared the antioxidant activity of 26 spices, cinnamon was deemed the winner and proved to be higher in antioxidants than other many other herbs and spices, including garlic, thyme, rosemary and oregano. Cinnamon health benefits are attributed to its content of a few specific types of antioxidants, including polyphenols, phenolic acid and flavonoids. These compounds work to fight oxidative stress in the body and aid in the prevention of chronic disease. DrAxe.com

*This post contains affiliate links. Which means I get a little something something for the purchase of a product from a link on my site. But, I’ll never mention products solely for the sake of profit, and I only mention products I truly love.

Nutritional Shake Powder (LadyBoss Lean) – optional

This is by-far my most favorite nutritional shake mix yet! I mainly use it for smoothies, but I also add it to a few recipes that don’t mind absorbing it’s vanilla cake flavor. Yum.

It may seem like it’s something too expensive to try right now, but look at it this way:
What are you spending on your lunch every day? Let’s say you start making smoothies or shakes for lunch instead and determine what that’ll cost. For me, it replaced my lunches/breakfasts with a quick, healthy alternative that comes out to around $1.64 per day for the shake mix. So instead of feeding myself a meal that may cost over $5-10, I’m giving my body extra nutrition and fuel, and you can’t beat that for that price.

I’ve been using this shake mix for about 5 months now, and this is the very first mention of it on my blog. Before I recommend anything, I like to be 100% sure that it lines up with my values and what I teach others. This product is non-gmo, soy free, gluten free, contains grass-fed whey and digestive enzymes, and has low-sugar.

If you’d like to give it a try, get it HERE*.

I mainly make these cookies for quick breakfasts on-the-go during travel baseball season. Along with the 2 eggs in the recipe, they contain an excellent amount of plant-based protein (not soy) to boot.

One reason I make 99% of our food from scratch is because I can control the ingredients. I take simple, everyday recipes and switch out unhealthy ingredients for healthier ones. You can read my testimony and learn more about that here.

Want to start transforming your pantry today? Learn more about my Healthier Ingredients Guide, and get it here.

 

I do things a little different than the norm. Instead of using two separate bowls for dry ingredients and wet ingredients, I start with the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients from smallest amount to highest amount. One dirty bowl.

Mix the coconut oil, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add in all the dry ingredients, mixing one by one: salt, baking soda, stevia, protein powder, hemp seed, gluten-free flour, and rolled oats.

Combine the sliced almond and chocolate chips last.

Dough should be thick enough to roll into meatball-sized balls. Place onto stone or baking pan, and smash down with your hands to form a cookie shape.

Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes, or until set. For a crunchier cookie, bake longer. They may never get “golden brown,” and will only rise slightly.

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