Banana Oat Cookies - No flour, no eggs, no sugar

I've seen recipes for cookies like this all over pinterest, never tried making any of them but always wanted to. I came across one the other day and decided it was finally time to make my own interpretation on these babies, so here it is. So friggin' easy its ridiculous but totally yummy and baby/kid friendly. Cookies you can actually feel good about eating and giving to your kids. No flour, no eggs, no sugar.

For my version, I added my go-to super foods, plus some coconut and cinnamon because that's always a good thing. These can be for the grown ups or the babies. I give these to Lennon as a treat with any meal of the day or take along for a snack.She devours these. Super yum. For the grown up version add some chocolate chips, or nuts.  I think I'll add some dried blueberries and pumpkin seeds on the next batch.

Banana Oat Cookies:

2/3 cups oats
2 ripe organic bananas
2 Tbs flax meal
2 Tbs organic hemp hearts
1 Tbs organic chia seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 350. Mash the banana in a medium bow, then add everything else. Blend well.

Scoop onto parchment lines baking sheet and bake for roughly15 min. Check em' after 15 min and put back in for another few if they don't look done. I leave them a bit on the chewy side for Lennon, but I would cook them probably the full 15 maybe more for the adult version.

There is a container full of these in my freezer so when I'm craving a snack to satisfy my sweet tooth, these guys are there and I don't have to worry about having one, or two...or three.

Pilates Love!

My advice for working out is find something you enjoy doing.

I love Pilates.

I also love Yoga- but I'll save that for another post. I really believe Pilates helped me get back into shape after having a baby. It is also a safe form of exercise that you can do throughout your pregnancy as well. I did, and I think that was a factor in bouncing back quicly. You definitely have to modify towards the end of the pregnancy and certain moves can not be done, but there is a ton that can be.

This was me at 6.5 months preggo



and this was the last picture taken 2 days before little Lennon was born. That belly is crazy huge!





Strengthening your core is SO important!! As pilates is a very functional workout it can help avoid injury and long term wear and tear on joints and muscles. It allows the body to produce long, lean muscles, improves posture and body awareness.  You also get really strong with doing pilates regularly.  You feel and look strong.  It's really amazing what it can do for your body!

The exercises are very precise, slow, controlled movements which require a lot of core strength. You can almost always tell when someone is a pilates buff.  Its rad because you can safely rehab or work out someone who has an injury, but also kick someones ass with an intense workout. There are so many exercises, and different versions and modifications of the exercises that the possibilities are endless, so it's hard to get bored. I love to add props into my workouts and classes as well- flex bands, weights, stability ball, foam roller....It is a very conscious mind, body workout, similar to yoga where emphasis is on breath and choreographed movements. There are benefits in pilates for everyone whether you are older, young, strong or looking to get stronger.  I have been doing pilates for over 10 years and it still challenges me, and that is what I really love about it.

Pumpkin Time! Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

I'm a fan of fall.... well mostly a fan of Halloween, but I do also like things that come with the season, like pumpkins.

Pumpkin is great for breads, muffins, desserts...lots of possibilities.

I have a recipe for pumpkin muffins in my cookbook- available here: http://www.blurb.ca/ebooks/461962-healthy-eating-never-tasted-so-good

I modified the recipe slightly for Lennon, so these are baby pumpkin muffins. Only difference really is I took out the agave. Hubby needs the muffins a bit sweeter but I think these are good with, or without the agave.

Pumpkin Muffins:

1 cup almond flour

2 Tbs golden flax meal

2 Tbs organic hemp hearts

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp, nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

½ cup organic pumpkin puree

1 Tbs grapeseed oil 

2 organic eggs 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.                                                                                                                                        

Mix together all the dry in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl mix together all the wet, then blend it all together

Scoop out into lined muffin tins and bake for 15-20 mins.

 I usually check at 15min, move to the top rack and bake for a few more min, just check with a toothpic. Freeze some or keep them all in the fridge, good for about a week.  

Baby Power Shake

I was asked to post this up from one of the mommies in my classes, so here it is!

I started giving these to Lennon as one of her first foods. Initially this was her whole meal, until she started eating actual solid foods with her hands, now I give her this as her fruit. Lennon likes to feed herself now- doesn't need mama anymore I guess lol.  I pack lots of healthy super foods in these so they have a bit of everything and lots of health benefits. I still use breast milk as the liquid but once my freezer supply is all done- I'm almost there- I am going to use coconut water or almond milk. I don't make these too liquidy, I feed them to my daughter with a spoon so it's kinda thick, like a thick milkshake, but you can def add more liquid and give it in a bottle or sippy cup. You can really experiment with what you put in them, and I usually make them a bit different every time. This is just a basic outline.

Baby Power Shake:

3 cups organic spinach (or any greens)
1 organic avocado
1 cup organic frozen blueberries
1 cup organic frozen raspberries
1 organic banana (or applesauce)
2 Tbs golden flax meal
2 Tbs organic hemp hearts
2 Tbs organic chia seeds
5-8 oz liquid ( breast milk, water, coconut water, almond milk...)

Put everything in the food processor and blend til smooth.

I pack these in little containers and freeze, just take out the morning of and its ready to go for lunch. This is basically what my power shakes are as well, so great for mam also! I start my day with one of these often. Easy and I can drink it in the car if I'm running late. I add brown rice protein powder to mine, that;s pretty much the only difference.

Here is a pic of the mommies and babies in my Thursday Mom and Baby Barre class at Body Barre Fitness:

Info for the class is on the schedule page of this blog if interested.