Hey My Vanilla-Nut Swirls!
Thanks for all of your comments on my post on my JRA. UPDATE: My knee isn’t hurting as much, the swelling is starting to go down (it’s slow, but steady), and it doesn’t feel as stiff, all of which I am SUPER excited about. I really didn’t want to have to go to the hospital, as I would have had to if it didn’t get better, so having the rest, Motrin, and no-peanut-butter/less-gluten-diet work almost brings tears into my eyes. I can’t wait to when I get to do planks and use the treadmill and workout with Jillian again. I have been doing the workout I shared, but of course I don’t want to do it every day, as the muscles need rest in between workouts to actually rebuild and become stronger, but it’s not the same as doing a full body circuit workout like the ones Jillian Michaels does. 
Since I have been avoiding peanuts and cutting back on gluten (which are two foods that can cause inflammation, since the swelling in my knee is a kind of inflammation, I don’t want to put any more stress on my knee than I have to),I asked my parents to get me a BIG bag of almonds, made over a quart of this almond butter (but this time I didn’t use the vanilla in it) to take place of my peanut butter, and then baked this lovely treat because … well — just because I wanted to. 
They are gluten-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and made with only five ingredients. And not only are they super easy to make, but they are also rich in fiber, have no sugar added, and are full of fruit and healthy fats!
What are they called? My Vanilla-Nut Banana Cookies!
Chop up your dates and almonds.
Add them along with the oat bran and cinnamon to your blender/food-processor.
Process them at medium-high speed
…until the mixture turns into a fine mill (flour-like).
Pour the mixture into a bowl and form a “well” in the center.
In the middle of the well, add the mashed bananas.
Stir it all up until it forms a dough.
Cookie-scoop the dough onto a non-stick or lightly sprayed baking sheet. You can use a fork to flatten them down if desired, but they taste great either way.
Bake at 350 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 9-11 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and set in the center. Let the cookies cool for a minute or two on the sheet, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
SERVE!
Vanilla-Nut Banana Cookies!
Ingredients
- ½ cup almonds, sliced or chopped (or if your blender/food-processor is strong enough, you can use whole)
- ¼ cup chopped dates
- 1 cup oat bran
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 3 bananas, ripe (with brown spots) and mashed
Directions
Chop up your dates and almonds. Add them along with the oat bran and cinnamon to your blender/food-processor. Process them at medium-high speed until the mixture turns into a fine mill (flour-like). Pour the mixture into a bowl and form a “well” in the center. In the middle of the well, add the mashed bananas and stir it all up until it forms a dough.
Cookie-scoop the dough onto a non-stick or lightly sprayed baking sheet. You can use a fork to flatten them down if desired, but they taste great either way. Bake at 350 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 9-11 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and set in the center. Let the cookies cool for a minute or two on the sheet, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
SERVE!
Note: to make completely gluten-free (for those who have those concerns), use gluten-free oat bran or gluten-free rolled oats in place of the regular oats.
These did not last long at all. (As they didn’t last long enough before they were all eaten, I’m sure they’d last for over a week or two, as long as they were kept in the fridge; they’d of course last longer in the freezer, which is one of my mom’s favorite ways to eat cookies – straight from the freezer.) They were all eaten within a couple days of me making them. Oh I guess that means I’ll have to make another batch.
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Do you like recipes with a short list of ingredients? I feel that the shorter the list of ingredients the better, and the easier to read and recognize the ingredients on a label the better.
What do you like to do to celebrate birthdays? Tomorrow is my Dad’s birthday and he wants to just go out for dinner. My birthday is coming up and hopefully we’ll get to go bowling! My AP tests will be done that day and by then my knee will hopefully be strong again. If not, I may just make a cake and have it at a game night (we’re thinking of having one at the end of May as an “End-Of-The-School-Year” game night. If that was it that would be enough for me.
How big is your water bottle? Mine’s a 20-oz bottle, but it has a tracker on the top that goes up to 6, so I can track right on my bottle how much water I drank that day.
xoxox,
