I've found during the last few years that with a little creativity, many delicious, but unhealthy recipes can be transformed into healthy indulgences. That's why I was so happy to discover Cooking Light's Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. If you don't mind a subtle banana flavor, you'll really enjoy these, and save yourself a ton of calories!
As usual, I did make some adjustments to this recipe to make it even healthier. Here are the changes I made:
- I substituted Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread for the butter (although there isn't nearly as much butter as a traditional recipe anyway).
- Instead of using white flour, I used oat flour (I've been using this great tip since I discovered Bethenny Frankel's chocolate muffins).
- I didn't have brown sugar on hand, so I used organic cane sugar instead. I don't know if there's a health difference between brown and granulated sugar, but I try to use organic products whenever possible.
- I reduced the cooking time for each batch to 7 to 9 minutes instead of 18. That's usually the amount of time it takes to bake my standard chocolate chip cookies, and it was the perfect amount of time for these as well. They look a little undercooked at first (although the sides should be golden brown), but will cook more on the cookie sheet once you take them out. And they're nice and soft...
If I were to make these again, I might try using applesauce instead of the egg. You might even be able to substitute applesauce for the banana too, but I'm not sure about that one. If you like to play around with recipes, it might be worth giving it a shot, especially if you're a vegan.
Cooking is a lot like real life when you really think about it. Each ingredient makes a difference in a recipe, just as each of us can make a difference in the world just by making informed choices.
Whole foods = Whole minds = Whole bodies = Whole people = Whole planet
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