When it’s hot outside and you’re in need of a sweet treat, the last thing you want to do is turn the oven on to bake a batch of cookies. Thankfully, there are plenty of easy no-bake treats that you can make without an oven, and they’re even healthier than your traditional favorites!
If you’re looking for something sweet to cool you down, chocolate covered bananas may be the perfect treat. Start out by slicing several bananas into ½-inch pieces, and then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze them for a couple of hours. When they’re frozen, you can make your chocolate sauce.
Heat non-dairy chocolate chips and one tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat, or heat them up in the microwave if you’re short on time. Be careful not to burn the mixture! If you’d like to mix things up, you can also add a tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter.
Next, dip the frozen banana pieces into the chocolate sauce and then place the bananas back on the parchment-lined baking sheet. The treats are ready to eat immediately, or you can put them back in the freezer to firm up a bit more. The banana bites are best eaten after they’ve had a few minutes to thaw.
Lastly, enjoy this delicious, potassium-rich snack! Potassium is excellent for boosting metabolism, enhancing muscle strength, and it helps to maintain good heart and kidney health. Potassium also helps to improve bone health, so if you suffer from any bone pain, you might want to work more bananas into your diet.
If you’re in the mood for cookies, there are plenty of no-bake cookie recipes to try. For a simple but healthy no-bake cookie recipe, combine two tablespoons of cocoa powder, two tablespoons of melted coconut oil, 1 teaspoon of organic vanilla extract, ¼ cup of almond butter or peanut butter, and ¼ cup of maple syrup.
Once the mixture is combined, mix in ¾ cup of almond flour or oat flour. If you don’t have oat or almond flour at home, you can make your own by grinding oats or almonds into a flour using your own blender. Once your cookie mixture is completely combined, drop rounded spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze them for about an hour, and then enjoy! Leftovers can be kept in the freezer or refrigerator.
These no-bake cookies may sound sinful, but they’re actually filled with healthy ingredients. Coconut oil, for example, is a popular superfood that provides many health benefits. Coconut oil is great for digestion, strengthening the immune system, improving bone health, and it helps to maintain blood sugar and cholesterol. The almond butter or peanut butter adds protein to your cookie, so they’re a great pick-me-up when you need a boost in energy.
Even maple syrup provides health benefits, so it’s best to use maple syrup in baking rather than refined white sugars. Maple syrup is rich in antioxidants, and helps to maintain a healthy heart.
To learn more about how to incorporate healthier foods into your daily life, please contact Premier Health Chiropractors. Aside from helping you to live a healthier lifestyle, we can help you with a wide variety of issues that you may be experiencing. Contact us today!