BANANA BREAD COOKIES
Another thing that boosts my mood is cookies fresh from the oven. What makes these cookies better is that they are full of natural goodness. They contain banana which is high in Vitamin B6, which creates dopamine which makes you feel happier, and the combination of natural sugar and fibre in banana helps to stabilise blood sugar levels. This can help to control your mood. Plus they are drizzled in dark chocolate, another mood boosting ingredient (winning)! Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, which boosts endorphins, and ananadamide, otherwise known as ‘the bliss chemical’ which makes us feel relaxed.
Oh and one last thing, these cookies can be in your belly in less than 25 minutes…. (I can tell you are heading straight for the kitchen - thank me later :-P)
Servings: Approximately 8 cookies
Ingredients
150g dates
80g jumbo oats
30g pecans
1 small ripe banana
40g almond butter
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Topping: Dark Chocolate (optional)
Method
Pre heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius
Place 50g of the oats and the remaining ingredients in a high speed blender. Blitz until it forms a dough. It’s likely to be quite a sticky mixture.
Decant the dough into a mixing ball and add the remaining oats and mix together.
Create roughly 8 evenly sized balls and flatten into discs between your hands.
Place on a lined baking tray and pop in the oven for 15 minutes. They should be a golden colour.
Leave to cool slightly, before melting the dark chocolate and drizzling over the cookies.
Top tip: Put the kettle on, grab a cookie and curl up the sofa with a good book. Need some book recommendations? Check out guest contributor Annabel’s 2022 recommendations HERE.
