News flash: Cookies can actually be good for you! At least, the Warrior Bars recipe that children’s singer Nina Stone gave us certainly has loads of healthy ingredients, like chia seeds, rolled oats, dried fruit, and sunflower seeds. “This recipe is from SimpleGreenSmoothies.com and their 21 Day (plant-powered) cleanse that I did last year,” says Nina. “But I still make these cookies all the time. The only thing I changed is that they call them Warrior Bars, and make them in a baking dish and cut them into bars. These are vegan, gluten free cookies that I’ll eat for snack or for breakfast to keep my energy up and my blood sugar even. And my daughter Piper actually loves them too!”
*Note: You can substitute with unsweetend dried fruit of choice. Ex: dried goji berries, cranberries, cherries, raisins. You can also use unsweetened shredded coconut. If the mixture is too dry, add another banana.
Warrior Bars
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. chia seeds + 6 tbs water
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup dried fruit
- 2 cups mashed bananas (super ripe)
- 1/3 cup pepitas
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1.2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F( 180 C). Grease or line 8 inch square baking sheet with parchment (baking) paper.
- Soak chia seeds in 6 tablespoons of water for 5 minutes.
- Combine the chia seeds and remaining ingredients in a bowl.
- Drop large dollops of mixture onto cookie sheet to make large cookies cookies. (They do not expand while baking so whatever size you make is the size they’ll be.)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.