Y’all I am not really all in for dieting in January. When it’s cold outside I want the comfort of food.

Real. Food.

But we went home to Arkansas for Christmas and we ate ALL THE THINGS.

And we ate A LOT of all of the thing things.

Like I’ve had to wear my curvy jeans since we got back to Scotland.

So in an effort to have the comfort of food but to take a break from the sugar highs (and lows) of the holidays, I’ve been making these cookies.

They are a variation on these from Minimalist Baker. But better because no dates (no thank you dried fruit in my cookies).

Making (and eating) a batch of these cookies has been our daily after-school routine for about two weeks now.

They are so easy and weensie that even Tiny Oven can make them!

So I thought I would share them with you.

Just in case you need a little bite of wholesome goodness at 4pm every day.

If you use gluten free oats and maple syrup (instead of honey), these cookies are gluten free and vegan!

Also, only 7 ingredients. So easy, yo!

Of course the chocolate chips are totally optional, but why would you ever leave out chocolate!

Bonus! Here’s a quick video of the whole process!

I imagine that if we ever didn’t eat the whole batch in one sitting that these would be great to pack for a hike!

Healthy Cookies

3/4 cup toasted almonds (100 grams)

3/4 cup gluten free oats (70 grams)

1 banana (85 grams)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (15 grams)

1/3 cup natural peanut butter (100 grams)

Ghiradelli’s bittersweet chocolate chips (You could use chocolate buttons in the UK)

Grind almonds in the food processor. Add oats and salt. Pulse a few times. Add banana and honey. Pulse again. Add peanut butter with food processor running until dough comes together. (Might need a teaspoon or two peanut butter more depending on the size of the banana)

Form dough into 28 bite sized cookies. Press chocolate chips in the center.

Bake at 350 degrees F/175 degrees C/Gas Mark 4 for 15-18 minutes.

Enjoy!

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I hope you’ve had a great week! Mine has been busy + amazing!  Cleaning up from vacation, catching up with friends.  I’ve enjoyed TWO surprise nights with just girls (my favorite!) and I got to guest post about camping with my crazy daddy over at my friend Sarabeth’s blog while she was on vacation.

One night this week I went out to eat to catch up with a friend and we ordered the most wonderful vegetarian tacos.

They were oh-so-delicious and upon inspection, also SUPER simple.  I find that I am loving simple vegetarian meals right now.  Just a few fresh ingredients tossed together is about my favorite summer fare!

I came right home and tried to make them the next day and they were a huge hit.  My family gobbled them up, so I think you will too!  You should probably make some this weekend.  Hope you have a great one!

Veggie Tacos

16 corn tortillas

2 onions, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
1 pound zucchini, sliced
2 cups fresh spinach

olive oil, salt and pepper

cilantro for garnish

In a large skillet, saute onions, garlic, mushrooms and zucchini in a tablespoon of olive oil for 5-10 minutes, until vegetables are soft.  Add spinach and cook for one more minute.

Warm corn tortillas in a separate skillet.

Fill tortillas with about 1/3 cup of vegetable mix and fold.

Serve with salsa and guacamole.

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I know mashed potatoes are almost just too easy of a recipe to even post on a blog, but for the sake of my children who will look this up when they go to college, I am going to go ahead and write down the instructions for making mashed potatoes.  Just in case they don’t pick it up along the way.

I learned to make mashed potatoes from my dad at Castle Bluff, so for a long time I only knew how to make them for about 100 people.  I always put way more water in the pot than you really need because I don’t want them to stick to the bottom.  To this day, when I put the potatoes on to boil, my dad walks by and says,

Are you cooking these taters or givin’ ’em swimming lessons?

Oh the kitchen banter!

For big family dinners, I peel all the potatoes, but when I’m making for just our family, I usually don’t.  Also if I use red potatoes instead of Russets then I leave the peels on because they are so thin.

We have a long tradition of teasing each other in our family about who can eat the most mashed potatoes.  For some reason, my grandfather used to always give my sister, Anna, the hardest time about being the one who ate all the mashed potatoes.  He would joke that he always made an extra batch if Anna was coming.

In addition to their great love of mashed potatoes, Anna, my grandfather and my father all share the habit of splattering mashed potatoes all over the kitchen while mixing them up with a hand mixer.  Their messes are legendary.

Now it is Cole who can put the potatoes away.  This summer while we were camping we made mashed potatoes on our last night in Colorado.  There were some potatoes left and I was about to throw them out when Cole told me to put them in the van because he would eat them the next day on the ride home.  Cold.

He did not lie.

Cold and old is not my favorite way to eat mashed potatoes, but I have a serious appreciation for those who do their part at our house to not waste food.  At 15, Cole is not doing a lot to warm my heart so I have to take my warm fuzzies where I can get them.

I know I can make him smile with mashed potatoes.

Even if you don’t usually cook, you can make your family smile with homemade mashed potatoes tonight.  Throw in a salad and a Rotisserie chicken and call it dinner.

Perfect Mashed Potatoes (for a crowd)

10 pounds potatoes

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 tablespoon salt

2-3 cups buttermilk

Peel potatoes. I have three peelers because this is always more fun with friends.

Quarter potatoes and put them in a large pot.

Fill with water and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are done.  (Until you can easily insert a fork into them)

Drain potatoes.  Throw sticks of butter on hot potatoes.

While mashing with a masher (or mixing with a hand mixer), add buttermilk a half cup at a time until you reach desired consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dish into a pretty bowl and serve hot.

Variations:

Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Roast 15-20 cloves of garlic in a dish with butter in the oven on 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Then mash these in with your potatoes.

Cheddar Cheese Mashed Potato Bake:  Substitute 8 ounces cream cheese for 1 cup of buttermilk when you mash the potatoes.  Spread them in a large baking dish and top with shredded cheddar cheese.  Then bake in the oven for 10 minutes to melt cheese.  This variation can be made the day before and then refrigerated and baked on the day of serving.  Just adjust the baking time to 30 minutes.

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