School is back in session and your schedule is probably as packed as ever, right? It can be so hard to get back into the swing of things after a relaxing, lazy summer. And sometimes the pressure of those packed calendars means healthy eating flies out the window. Who has the time to cook a healthy breakfast when you’re rushing to get to work and get the kids out the door and juggling a million other responsibilities?
But the fact is, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And that is a cliché for a reason—it’s true. Eating a healthy breakfast jumpstarts your metabolism and sets you up for a healthy remainder of your day. A healthy breakfast helps with your concentration in the office and your kids’ concentration in the classroom. Counter to what you might believe, eating a healthy breakfast (instead of skipping it all together) actually helps you lose weight. Studies have shown that folks who regularly eat a healthy breakfast actually eat less calories total during the day—resulting in weight loss.
That’s all well and good (and you probably already know all of this) but those facts don’t mean a thing when you’re running late and rushing out the door. Here’s the solution: accept that weekday mornings are going to chaotic and prepare for it. By pre-planning what your family is going to eat for the week, and spending a little bit of time prepping healthy goodies over the weekend, you can get out the door a whole lot quicker and easier each morning AND with breakfast in hand.
Take these breakfast cookies for example. They take about 30 minutes to make a batch over the weekend (you can carve out 30 minutes this weekend, can’t you?), and they are packed with healthy fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. They are just sweet enough to be tasty, but not so sweet you feel like you’re eating dessert for breakfast. Kids and adults alike love them. And they are the epitome of an easy, grab-and-go, weekday morning breakfast. Pair the cookies with other speedy breakfast foods like smoothies, hard-boiled eggs, single-serve yogurts, and fruit for a well-rounded, quick breakfast. Enjoy!
Apple Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
2
cups rolled oats
1
cup white whole wheat flour
1
t ground cinnamon
1
t baking soda
1/2
t salt
1
large tart apple, cored and diced
1/2
cup raisins
2/3
cup apple butter
1/4
cup maple syrup
2
eggs
1/4
cup melted coconut oil (or an alternative mild-flavored cooking oil)
Steps
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a non-stick baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, flour, cinnamon, soda, salt, apple, and raisins until well combined. Set aside.
In a second small bowl, whisk together the apple butter, maple syrup, eggs, and coconut oil until smooth. Add that to the oat mixture and stir to combine. The mixture will be very thick. Let mixture rest for 5 minutes to soften the oats.
Using damp hands, form the mixture into large balls (about 2″ across) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Smash balls down to form flat cookies—the cookies will not spread or rise in the oven.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are slightly brown and begin to split. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
Note: White whole wheat flour is available in the baking aisle of most major supermarkets. It’s a 100% whole grain that is made with a lighter wheat berry—resulting in a flour that tastes more like all-purpose flour.
- Don’t have apple butter? No problem, just replace the apple butter with 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1/3 cup maple syrup.
Nutrition
Serving size: 1 large cookie | Servings per recipe: 12
259 calories, 7.5g fat, 42.8g carbs, 7.1g protein
