Thanks to my expert blogging friend, Jane, I was told about these really healthy cookies. It intrigued me, especially considering they were made wheat-free and sugar-free. They have oats in them, so at first I didn't think I could have them. But my last visit to Against the Grain I found some oats that were gluten free and made in a wheat-free factory. I have always questioned oats with my own diet. I noticed that every time I ate some I felt the effects of gluten. Supposedly whole oats that say gluten free are okay for some. I was told that they can't be dumped back into the diet but slowly eating them again shouldn't have a negative effect. I was SO excited about this because oats have been one of the most missed food items. Anyway here's the great healthy cookie recipe...I made them tonight with a few hesitations and doubt but they were better then I thought. I probably eight four or five of them. They are tasty! 

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil) Can also use canola oil
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal/flour
1/2 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 13-17 minutes. I baked these as long as possible so the bottoms become a light brown. Around 16 minutes was about perfect in my oven. 

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.

A great blog to check out for more healthy ideas: 

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nikkis-healthy-cookies-recipe.html

I realized last night that I had pretty much ran my fridge dry of food. So as I dug around in my veggie bin I found half a tomato, a huge zucchini, some feta cheese, some mozzarella cheese and some spaghetti sauce. This was a really quick and simple meal/appetizer. It turned out to be pretty delicious. I recommend it if you are in the mood for something light.

Cover the bottom of a pan lightly with olive oil and begin to heat. Cut a large zucchini into big pieces. Place the pieces into the oil and begin to cook. I would keep it around medium heat. After a couple of minutes flip all the pieces and cook until the zucchini is pretty soft, or whatever is preferred. Lightly season with garlic salt. Turn the heat to low and place about a spoonful of spaghetti sauce on top of each piece. Then lay a thin slice of mozzarella on top. Once the mozzarella has pretty much melted all the way through, place a thin slice of tomato on top and sprinkle some feta cheese over all of them. Cover with lid and heat for about one minute. Take the lid off, place on a plate and you are ready to serve! I call it, Simply Zucchini. 

It takes some getting use to eating without any gluten. But once the right recipes are found and experimented with, it's quite a delicious way of life!