Banana Coconut Cookie Recipe

I don’t know about you guys, but I am always looking for “healthy” treats that taste and feel indulgent but can be eaten guilt free. Plus, if you remember last month’s blog, after a run we have a short “Window of Opportunity” to give our body the nutrients it needs to recover properly. When we take advantage of this Window of Opportunity, we replenish energy stores, reduce inflammation, prevent injury and get back out there and hit the pavement even quicker!

Banana Coconut Cookies

Makes 36 bite sized cookies

• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2/3 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cacao nibs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine banana, vanilla extract and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl, stir together the oats, ground almonds, coconut, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in cacao nibs. Drop dollops of dough, each about 2 tsp in size, an inch apart, onto a prepared cookie sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes.

How do these cookies help me recover faster?

• The bananas and oats provide easy to digest carbohydrates to replenish our glycogen stores. Think of glycogen as our energy bank.
• The almonds provide easy to digest protein to help repair any muscle damage that has occurred during our run.
• Turmeric and cinnamon help to reduce inflammation. This inflammation occurs naturally when we exercise, but the faster we reduce it, the sooner our muscle soreness goes away.
• Cacao nibs are incredibly high in magnesium, which can help reduce muscle tension.

Pack these with you and enjoy as soon as you can after your run!

Happy Weekend!

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