Every recipe has a story….and here's this one! As I said before in my bio, I am a foodie. About 3 weeks ago I went on a food crawl to New York with a group of friends and it was an eating frenzy. All we did was walk and eat and then eat some more. It was absolutely glorious. Before I had left for my trip, my husband and talked about joining this gym across the street. We agreed that we would start AFTER my New York City binge…(another reason why I ate my heart out in NY..I knew I was going to have to pay for it later). Little did I know that this gym was not just a typical gym. This was a fitness program which involves intense cardio interval training, strength training, and yes, a plant based diet nutrition plan.

Our first workout at our new gym was nothing short of a nightmare. I was sweaty, uncomfortable, tired, whiney :) and when we got home I looked at my husband sternly in the eyes and I said, "You signed us up for 30 days of Hell".

On the first day of our "diet", I was at work and a patient brought us some bakery goods from Starbucks. Immediately this moist blueberry crumble muffin caught my eye. Before inhaling this delicious muffin, I decided to text my husband to consult him if it was a good idea to just take one bite of this deliciousness. He quickly shot that idea down and replied, "NO MUFFIN". To which I replied with a crying sad face and a, "Wahh". God knew that I needed someone in my life to teach me discipline and keep me grounded. Thanks to my husband, I ate an apple instead and it was not satisfying. I did however, bring home the muffin and threw it my freezer in case after the 30 days I would still want it :).

I knew if I were to keep up with this 30 day challenge, I would need to make some sacrifices, but also get creative with my baking. This is where this recipe came from. I wanted something hearty, "breakfasty", healthy and yummy. These baked up to be thick, chewy cookies. Just how I like 'em. And of course, the perfect substitute for that blueberry muffin waiting in the freezer for me.

"Substitute Oatmeal, Blueberry & Almond Cookies"

Ingredients:

3 cups Rolled-Oats (I used a gluten free brand from Trader Joe's)

1 1/4 cups of Almond flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup drained Cannellini beans

1/2 cup all-natural Almond butter

2/3 cup coconut oil (heated until in liquid form, about 10 seconds in the microwave)

1 cup Turbinado raw cane sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup dried wild blueberries

1 tbs chia seeds

*I only made a 1/2 batch since it's just my husband and I. Recipe makes about 48 cookies.

**I purchased all of the above ingredients at Trader Joe's.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. In a food processor, puree beans and almond butter until smooth.

4. Combine bean and almond butter mixture with coconut oil, turbinado sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat well.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Add blueberries and chia seeds and stir by hand.

6. Using a cookie scoop, drop batter on lightly greased baking sheet or a parchment lined/silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until center is firm and edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Mmmmm…who would want a blueberry muffin when you can have this! :)