We took advantage of the gorgeous weather last night and did some more deck work and gardening.
I like to leave Eric some words of encouragement on the scrap wood. ;)
My plants seem to be adjusting well to the transplant!
Some of the plants look like they have already grown an inch! The bell peppers seem to be sprouting up especially fast. I water them in the morning around 7am.
Sometimes there is singing involved.
Sometimes there is story telling involved. The spinach and kale already know their destiny (green monsters and kale chips).
I put 3 foot high chicken wire around both beds to hopefully keep out the bunnies, deer, etc. I can unhook it and open it up when I need to.
Hopefully it helps…(but I think if an animal really wanted to get in there, it could!)
Tonight, I’m going to buy some larger pots (mine are too small) and a trellis or two and get that all set up.
When I came in last night, I was craving chocolate like mad.
I’m definitely the ‘typical female’ who gets intense chocolate cravings from time to time and nothing else can satisfy me until I have my fix. Normally, I just eat chocolate chips straight out of the bag (and end up eating way too many!), but last night I wanted to come up with a healthier fix for my chocolate cravings.
I instantly thought of my Frosty No Bake Glo Cakes that I enjoyed so much last summer. I figured that I could take this recipe and make it into a chocolaty version!
In just 5 minutes of prep work, I had these intensely chocolaty cookies in the freezer just waiting to be enjoyed!
They are super creamy, chocolaty, slightly sweet, chewy, pillowy (thanks to the banana) and a bit doughy. And the ingredient list and nutritional profile is quite impressive too.
Even when in the freezer overnight, they don’t firm up solid- they remain chewy, which means you can enjoy them anytime for a quick chocolate fix.
Frosty No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Frosty No Bake Glo Cakes.
Yield: 7 small cookies.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
- 1 large banana
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp buckwheat groats (optional)
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- Sweetener, if preferred
Directions:
1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips for about 60 seconds being careful not to burn. Remove from microwave and stir so the rest of the chips melt.
2. Roughly chop the banana and mash it into the melted chips with a fork.
3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients into the chocolate & banana and stir very well until all oats are coated with chocolate.
4. Line a plate with parchment and drop about 7 cookies onto it. Alternatively, you can use muffin liners. Freeze for about 1 hour or until firm. Cookies will firm up, but they won’t become solid and will remain chewy. Leave in the freezer for a quick chocolate fix any time of the day! Makes 7 small cookies at 80 calories each.
Nutritional Info (per cookie, makes 7):
- 80 kcals
- 3 grams fat (1 gram sat)
- 10 grams carbs
- 2 grams fibre
- 5 grams sugar
- 2 grams protein
Not bad, right? :) The best part is that the cookies don’t taste like a ‘typical healthy cookie’ at all. These really did satisfy my chocolate cravings!
When I made the first batch, I made 4 cookies in muffin liners like I did with my glo cakes…
I prefer them as smaller cookies though because I get to eat more! For the second batch, I simply dropped 7 cookies onto a parchment paper lined plate and popped them in the freezer until firm.
Oh, and I may have crumbled one on top of a bowl of Kamut Puffs this morning… Just throwing that out there. ;)
Okay, where were you last night when I needed that recipe!!? I had a major chocolate craving last night at 10pm (ridiculous, really) so I decided to try Gwyneth Paltrow’s recipe from her new cookbook. After licking the spoon and waiting 30 minutes for it to bake my craving had passed but now I’m prepared for the chocolate attack today! (By the way, I wasn’t impressed by the recipe…maybe I’m a brownie snob!) Your yummy recipe sounds great and I love that it’s easy.
Sarah
veggie-kids.blogspot.com
Omigosh these look AMAZING! I have been wanting to try your Glo cakes and now I really have to try these delicious looking cookies!!
I love how your treat recipes often make just enough and not a million and one cookies. SO trying this today!!!
Oh wow … I got up and made these as soon as I saw them! I ordered some groats after you used them in VOO, I was so pleased to be able to use them in this recipe! I made six, to fit in my silicone muffin pan, and I’ve just eaten one while reading the comments – they are so, so yummy! The person who said there’s something in the air must be psychic, I’m feeling it too! I’ve been using Averie’s (loveveggiesandyoga.com) Coconut Oil Chocolate to quench it (along with my tweak to it of making mint chocolate by replacing the vanilla extract with peppermint extract), it just melts so perfectly in my mouth that it satisfies me and one tiny piece is enough! This is amazing to me as I’m recovering from disordered eating, and I haven’t eaten intuitively since I was about nine years old: having one tiny piece and genuinely not wanting any more kind of blows my mind :)
Thank you for this recipe, it is pure genius ;) And your garden is great, I aspire to have something like it one day :)
Look delish! I always just go for the chocolate…seems to work and satisfy the craving!
yummy! thank you for this! I love quick fixes like this it helps me not reach for a mini bite size snickers! :)
No Bake cookies are one of my specialties. I absolutely LOVE them. But they are dangerous to have in the house. I can seriously eat like 10 in one sitting…which is more like 800 calories. :D
Oh man – those look amazing! I’m always looking for ways to quell my cravings with just 80 calories. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been told that if you sprinkle cayenne pepper on your plants and garden it will keep the animals away. They may try and take a nibble at first but once they taste the cayenne they back off :)
do you have any recommendations for a banana substitute?
I made your original frosty no bake bars last year and loved them! So I can’t wait to try these!
We just made similar cookies a couple days ago…I’ve been meaning to make a healthy version of the Chocolate Odies, but you beat me to it! ;) These looks so good!
And your garden looks beautiful. Are you doing the square foot gardening method, or are those just raised beds?
mmmm.. these look like a healthier version of unbaked cookies my mom used to make! I think I may have to try this recipe soon! Sad thing is my husband is allergic to oats :( I wonder if there is something else I can substitute?
Just popped mine into the freezer- can’t wait to enjoy one for my preworkout snack!
Mmm, looks delicious! But since when are you back to counting?
Hi Julia, I don’t ‘count’ calories, but I do like to be mindful of the nutritional profile of the treats I consume. Hope that clarifies!
It does, thanks:)
i just made them and started eating the batter. So good!
Yummy! My personal favorite combination ever is peanut butter, chocolate, and banana. And all can be put into these!
I really like this! squash it in 80 calories ehhh? sounds good to me~especially when it’s later in the evening haha
Yum!! I can’t wait to make these!
omg, now I want chocolate… and we’re in the car on our way to vacation. Hmm need to get me some chocolate ASAP until I can make these. They look delicious, Angela! Way to go with the gardening, it’s coming together really nicely :)