Healthy Cookies-ish

Let me tell you about something that is hard for me.  Eating well and not seeing results!  Obviously I won't see results of eating well until after November when I'm no longer pregnant.  But this time I have a goal to eat and exercise well during pregnancy.  When I was pregnant with Morgan I sort of let myself have whatever I wanted.  Bag of Halloween candy in one sitting?  Why not?!  I exercised the whole time, if walking for 30 minutes a day counts (which it does for many people, but not for me).  I gained 43 pounds!  FORTY THREE POUNDS!  I thought that was fine because I was on the lower end of my "healthy range" when I started, but 8 months after Morgan was born, when I was still trying to lose the weight, I realized that those bags of candy were so not worth it.  I just couldn't lose the last 10 pounds.  So this time I am trying hard not to gain the last 10 pounds so I don't have to lose it (and because we have a cruise scheduled in March and I want to look freaking awesome).

Does that mean I eat totally clean and never have treats?  Um, no.  I eat more treats than I should.  However, I do eat a whole lot better than I did with Morgan.  I am trying to skip the sweets during the week and only have them on weekends.  It's not totally working, but there are days where I don't have any sweets.

So, the point of this post is to introduce you to this "cookie" that I found on Pinterest.  It is more of a "healthy bar" than a "cookie," but it hits the spot when I want a treat.  Add a little peanut butter (I didn't have walnuts to make them) and you have a great, balanced energy bar. (PS If you want to follow me on Pinterest, go here or click on the button on the right).

Original Recipe at Watching What I Eat

Ingredients:

2	bananas
1 1/2	cup oatmeal
1	cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4	cup chopped walnuts
3	tbsp raisins
2	tbsp dried cranberries
1	tsp vanilla extract
1	tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. preheat heat oven to 350 degrees
2. mix vanilla extract & cinnamon into the applesauce
3. blend applesauce mixture with all other ingredients & let sit for 10 minutes
4. drop cookie dough, by spoonfuls, onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet & flatten cookies into rounds ~ (makes 12 - 16 cookies, depending on size)
5. bake approx. 30 minutes, or until golden & done
6. remove from oven & let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack
7. when completely cool store in a covered container
8. ~ MAKES 12 LARGE OR 16 REGULAR COOKIES

Nutritional Analysis:

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 56.6g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 90 Calories from Fat 21

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 2.3g 4%

Saturated Fat 0.2g 1%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 2mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 16.1g 5%

Dietary Fiber 2.2g 9%

Sugars 6.0g

Protein 2.3g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 4% Calcium 1% • Iron 3%

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet Nutritional details are an estimate and should only be used as a guide for approximation.

Legend

 Fat
 Protein
 Carbs
 Alcohol
 Other

Calorie Breakdown (?)

Daily Values (?)

For more clean-eating meals, check out Watching What I Eat.  It's got a lot of great, healthy stuff!