Something Tasty {Paleo Banana Breakfast Cookies}

 I think I have mentioned here and there on facebook or instagram that I am trying to transition to the "Paleo Diet". Some people call it "Primal Diet" or "Caveman Diet". This whole thing got started when my husband was reading about The Whole 30 Challenge and Wheat Belly. Of course Whole30 has been making waves in the nutrition world for quite a while now. I had heard about it and seen it all over the internet but I was never interested. I was like - no way will I ever do the Whole 30 Challenge. It's too restrictive! I can't even have chocolate! WHAT? I'm still not really interested in the challenge. Maybe one day. But it was the Wheat Belly info that really got me thinking. I had been complaining for the last 6 months or so of always feeling so bloated all the time. I could pass for 3 months pregnant at any moment. It was just how I always looked. My belly always looked like I had just finished a big buffet lunch. Even if I had just had something very small.  I read this statement from the author of the book, William Davis:

"Over 200 million Americans consume food products made of wheat every day. As a result, over 100 million experience some form of adverse health effect, ranging from minor rashes to high blood sugar to unattractive stomach bulges preventative cardiologist William Davis calls "wheat bellies." According to Davis, that excess fat has nothing to do with gluttony, sloth, or too much butter: it’s due to the whole grain wraps we eat for lunch."

I do not have any health concerns but I was really intrigued with the idea that my belly was bulging because of what I was eating, not necessarily the amount of calories. I had heard about the Paleo Diet as well and the hubs and I thought it was time to give it a try. He had been doing Atkins for the second time in his life but was not having much success this second go around. I never did Atkins and never will. Yet again, like with the Whole30, it's just too restrictive for me. But I may give Whole30 a try....someday.

ANYHOO that brings me to this recipe! Eating a Paleo diet has been challenging. Why? Because there are no processed foods. I can't grab a bowl of granola for breakfast. I can't eat a cup of yogurt. You have to plan ahead. You have to cook. You have to combine, mix, bake and freeze things for later use. Think of yourself as a Pioneer lady...just without the cow you have to milk, the lard you have to render or the 9 million other things they had to do along with making EVERYTHING from scratch. I try to remind myself that even though I am spending a TON more time in the kitchen I still have lots of luxuries that make things go quicker. Kitchen gadgets are now important to me. My freezer and fridge space is important now. The cabinet that used to hold boxes of crackers, rice cakes and sugary 100 calorie snacks...not so much. 

These breakfast cookies are wonderful. They taste more like a muffin than a cookie. They do not have a cookie crunch or texture. I guess you could call them more of a muffin top. I had some fruit on the side and that really brought out the flavors in the "cookie". The recipe does call for baking soda which is technically not good to go for Paleo. I have some arrowroot powder that is a good substitution for baking powder. The more I transition the better I will be at using those substitutions. I think I will be able to do it next time I make these.

I took the recipe directly from here.  For my mix-in's I used organic shredded coconut. I am NOT a coconut fan really. But I am getting used to it. Plus the organic shredded coconut I get is really finely shredded and  doesn't have that much coconut flavor. I think the coconut I grew up hating was never really truly fresh, raw, coconut. It was the nasty artifical flavored stuff that was way to overpowering and looked like paper shreds. 

Even if you're not doing Paleo, these are healthy, easy to make and easy save in the fridge for fast snacking. I love that there is no added sugar. Just the natural sweetness from the banana.