Cabbage Salad & Banana Cookies

The other day I was so hungry, and I wanted something cool, crisp, and healthy for lunch. I threw together this healthy cabbage salad, and cooked up some mixed veggies too.

This salad consists of about 1 cup of cabbage, 5 slices of tomato, onion slices, 6 cucumber slices, 1/4 cup of tuna, 1 tbsp. of mayonnaise, and a few peas as a garnish. Also, I added a dash of salt, pepper, and a squirt of a secret sauce my dad makes. It was really good! (I took this picture while my other veggies were cooking.)

 While I fixed myself a salad, I had some cinnamon banana cookies baking in the oven. I got this recipe from Taralynn McNitt at Undressed Skeleton. When I saw them I thought that they looked so good, and I had just had to try them.

(These are her cookies - they look big, beautiful, and delicious!)

I was getting ready to make the cookies, and went into the kitchen to see if we had any flax seeds. I glanced at the fruit basket to see how many bananas were left. My dad was standing in the kitchen eating the last one. He caught me looking for bananas, and asked if I  had planned on eating one. Long story short, when he saw I needed a banana, he offered me what was left of his. That was just so sweet... there was about half a banana left - exactly what I needed. He's the best. :)

So, I whipped together these cookies and popped them in the oven. They were so easy to make!

Cinnamon Banana Cookies

• 1/2 medium banana
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbsp. ground flax seed
• 1 tbsp. oats
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda (recommend using less)

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your baking sheet and drop three, tablespoon sized, cookies on there. I made four instead of three. When your oven is ready, bake these for about 10-12 minutes. Let them cool and then dig in and enjoy! These are a healthy treat that are guilt-free. They are also gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats. These only have 30 calories per cookie!

The first cookie I ate was delicious! I loved it and was so pleasantly surprised by the absolute goodness. However, the second and third cookie were a bit too salty. I would recommend reducing the baking soda to about 1/4 tsp., and I would use a bit more banana next time. I had roughly half a banana, but not quite. It might have helped if I had more banana and less baking soda. 

I enjoyed my cookies with a glass of skim milk. My salad was finished, but the veggies weren't done cooking, and I was making my brother a sandwich. So I snacked on these cookies while I made the veggies and sandwich, then I went and enjoyed my complete lunch.

These cooked veggies are my very favorite mix. They are so amazing. I cook them in less than a tablespoon of olive oil until they are soft and warm. They need no salt or pepper - or anything! If you prefer your veggies without the extra calories from oil, spread them out on a baking pan, and broil them until done. They are fantastic this way! This mix is a bag I get at my grocery store - Aldi. It's called California Medley. They are so delicious, so if you can get a bag - try them! ;)

In this picture you can see that my cookies are a bit smaller and darker than Taralynn's. As I said before, I will make these again with more banana, and less baking soda. You could add raisins, coconut, or nuts to this, just remember that by doing so you will be increasing the amount of calories.

Well, thanks for reading! I hope that this post was helpful and inspiring. Please let me know if you try these cookies. I would love to hear how they turn out for you. Taralynn said that they were phenomanal, so even though mine weren't fantastic, I'm not giving up. I want all of my cookies to taste amazing - not just one. :) If you take my advice and reduce the baking soda, they should be fantastic. Also, if you happen to try my tuna cabbage salad, please let me know how you liked it. Thanks! Have an awesome day and a blessed week! 

Love & Grace,

Mariah