Sweaty Shins and Banana-Walnut-Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

“Is that sweat on my shin? Is that sweat on my muthafuckin shin??”

I said internally, cause in hot yoga no one talks except the teacher. And you don’t want to be that person. All loud and amazed you still haven’t fainted doing this shit.

It’s terribly distracting.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen sweat on my shin until I began my hot yoga practice, and I’ve had challenging workouts before.

Though I always love how I feel post practice, I have to envision myself in my summer swimsuit to get motivated to go. Like, “You know your ass has never been so lifted…you know that cellulite is transforming itself day by day…you know you are gonna eat eleven cookies later today.”

See, that last one…

I go to practice so I can eat cookies, mostly.  Sure, anxiety and depression stay at bay with regular practice.  And my ass is looking like, “Hey, boo. Heyyy.” But it’s the seductive lure cookies have over my entire life that keeps me returning to hot yoga.

My favorite pose out of the 26 in the sequence? Shavasana…also known as Dead Body pose. That’s right. The pose that requires you to lie flat on your back and not move.

That. Is. My. Favorite. Yoga. Pose. OfAllTime.

I just make myself do the other ones.

But, yoga–with its tricky ass–has me cleaning up my diet. What the what? I go to practice and I can’t bring myself to eat junk all the time. Note: all the time. Cause y’all know I will never turn my back on french fries and onions rings. Nevah.

But this yoga practice is rewiring my brain to think of my body’s true needs…first.

But I still want cookies.

So, I started dabbling in a healthier cookie version, which led me to this Banana-Walnut-Chocolate Chip goddess. Gluten free. Added refined sugar free.  Delicious.  It has to be DELICIOUS. And little. So if I eat four it’s like eating one regular cookie.

Kind of:/

Don’t judge me.

Baby steps, y’all. Baby steps.

Banana-Walnut-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dry ingredients…

• 2 cups gluten-free oat flour
• 1 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup quick oats, toasted in oven for 7 minutes
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of sea salt

Wet ingredients…

• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 TBSP flax seed mill + 2 TBSP water, mixed
• 1 tsp Orange zest

Directions:

1. Combine your dry ingredients and set aside.

2. With a spoon or your fingers, mix your wet ingredients.

3. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix well.

4. Scoop a large tablespoon amount for each cookie and bake in a 350° oven for 8 minutes.

Side note: use the allspice and orange zest. Do not leave those ingredients out. You will be mad at only yourself. Don’t say I didn’t tell you.

Enjoy! Til text time, Reine.