THE BEST Super Healthy Vegan Cookies

Well I'm five years deep into "Mom Life" now.  And I can honestly say that I've never thought twice about "nut allergies" in my entire life until Harry started Kindergarten last year.  And yes, it sucks ass to be vegan and have to avoid all of my fave nuts when cooking now.

"Meal prep" for small children sure is different than my vegan bodybuilding meal prep.  But I do my best to make it work!

And when I'm making Harry's school lunch everyday, I know whatever I include has to be high in nutrition but taste good enough for him to actually eat it.  Because let's be honest... Nothing is more infuriating than seeing your kid's healthy lunch come right back home to you.  Don't they know how effing expensive those organic vegan ingredients are?!?!

But I digress...

Through much trial and error, I've learned that cookies are always a safe bet with small kids.  And yes, Harry is a big fan of ALL store-bought cookies and they're super convenient. But they're absolute garbage compared to my nutrient-dense, homemade, vegan ones.  And I'm proud to say I've finally mastered a recipe that Harry loves AND are super healthy.

It's a slightly-revised version of a recipe I found many years ago in an issue of Vegan Health & Fitness Magazine (which sadly is no longer being published.)  But I gotta give props for the recipe inspo to a vegan runner named Susannah Heller. I basically cut out her suggested dried cranberries and subbed for protein and omega-3 rich hemp seeds.

Ingredients:

2 cups of quick or rolled oats
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (or oat flour to make them gluten-free)
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 Tbsp. coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup hemp seeds
2/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Combine all dry ingredients: oats, flour, chia seeds, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

3) Stir applesauce and coconut oil into mixture until dough is evenly mixed. Add maple syrup slowly (plus extra if you want the cookies sweeter.) Fold in chocolate chips, hemp seeds and coconut. Spoon dough onto the prepared baking sheet.

4) Bake until edges of cookies are lightly browned about 12 - 15 minutes.

Enjoy with your kids or all to yourself!  I sometimes have these as a quick post-workout snack too.

- Sam