Cookies.  Any self-respecting, health-conscious person who cares about his or her waistline knows that cookies are verboten.  Totally taboo.  Or as my ‘favorite’ surgeon Dr. Oz proclaimed, “Your genetics load the gun.  Your lifestyle pulls the trigger.”

Cookie Monster Bandit courtesy of wave106.com

HAY-OHH!  Hold up, Dr. Oz – can you please rein in the drama for once?  I’m here to talk about cookies, not genetic gun control, okay?  Jeez.  Apparently you can’t be too careful about the contributors you invite into your blog space.

Ah-hem.  Where was I?  Cookies.  If I said that you could make the world’s healthiest cookie with just 2 ingredients – yes, TWO – you’d think I was drunk-blogging right now.  Why?  Because conventional wisdom tells us that A) cookies are not healthy and B) a two-ingredient cookie probably tastes like sawdust.  Dear Readers, I’d like to ask a favor of you.  Please suspend this belief just long enough to bake and taste these cookies yourself.   Trust me.

The following recipe yields just six large cookies, which is highly intentional.  For those of us who struggle with moderation, we really don’t need to bake more than six cookies at a time.  We know who we are, and we know I’m writing the truth.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium banana that is overly ripe (the riper it is, the sweeter it is, the better it is)
• ½ c. old fashioned oat meal (don’t use that instant shit – it really is sawdust)

Directions:

1. Preheat conventional oven (or toaster oven) to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a bowl, mash the banana with a fork, and then mix in the oats.
4. If you used a particularly large banana and the mix seems a bit too wet, then add more oats until the mixture is cohesive enough to form cookie patties.  Place them on the baking sheet evenly spaced.
5. The size of the cookies is up to you; however, remember that smaller cookies require less cooking time.  I created 6 cookies from my ‘batter’ and used a toaster oven to cook them for 25 minutes (or until you see the edges/bottoms of the cookies turning deep brown – not black).
6. Let the cookies cool for about 5-10 minutes, and then marvel at the fact that you just created a 2-ingredient cookie.

Before you try them, let’s make sure your expectations are in check.  Don’t expect this cookie to taste like it came from the kitchen of Mrs. Fields or Famous Amos.  The reason their cookies taste so good is because they’re so bad for you.  Remember what went into our cookies in order to calibrate your thinking about what you’ll get out of them.

Okay.  Now try them.

Well?  What do you think?  Here’s what I thought when I tried the two-ingredient cookie for the first time:  “No way!  It worked!  With just two ingredients!  That’s crazy.  And that’s a pretty decent cookie.  Nicely portable, too, in case I need a hanger-squashing snack to-go.  Hmm… but these cookies could use a little something extra.  Perhaps more sweetness.  What to do, what to do…”

That’s when my creativity kicked in.  After testing the foundational recipe, I decided to improve the flavor profile without compromising the cookies’ healthiness.  So I made another batch, and this time I added the following ingredients:

The results:

Wow-oh-wow-oh-wow.  The texture and flavor of this batch made my taste buds do the Humpty dance.  Even better, using MyFitnessPal, I built the recipe to show you how the cookies’ superb nutritional profile remained intact:

After you make your first batch of basic, two-ingredient cookies, I strongly encourage you to get creative with other healthy ingredients.  For example, I plan to try this recipe using all-natural peanut butter in the mix.  As a peanut butter fanatic, I’m sure the whole batch will not last longer than 10 minutes once removed from the oven.

Finally, I want to leave you with a picture of reality.  While the Hangry Chicks are all about healthy eating, we’re also humans who have moments of weakness.  While in the kitchen, experimenting with iterations of the foundational recipe, I had a weak moment that involved Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  I’m not advocating the replication of this experiment.  I’m merely sharing it with you to show what can happen if you try to bake cookies while you are hangry.  My hanger was an 8 at the time of this experiment.  The highly naughty cookies did not even make it to the cooling rack – 30 seconds after this picture was taken, they were gone.

RIP, naughty cookies.

Holy hiatus, Batman! Yes, we know, we know. It’s been a long while since we’ve posted anything. What can I say? We are a couple of busy ladies. But we’re back on the scene so don’t you worry your little hangry heads. I’m sure you were very worried.

Three pieces of news before we share a new easy hangry busting recipe for your belly filling desires.

1) Early this year, Greta conducted a competition to find a new logo for our Hangry Chicks brand. We had many amazing submissions and we thank each and every designer who participated in the logo contest. We awarded Bambi, a fantastic graphic designer from Slovakia, the final prize because we dug her logo the most. What do you think? Let us know!

2) We’ve finally created a twitter handle and facebook account. HOLLER. Check us out! @HangryChicks and http://www.facebook.com/HangryChicks. Please follow us since currently, our follower tally is zero. Yep.

3) Also, on a personal note, I (Natalie) would like to add that I had the amazing opportunity to have one of my workouts featured in Women’s Health Magazine this month! If you didn’t have a chance to pick up the magazine, you can check out the 15-Minute workout for arms by clicking here.

Okay! Enough with the announcements! Onto the food.

A little while back, Greta posted about using acorn squash as a shell for holding deliciousness. She filled her acorn squash shell with veggie stuff (in case you didn’t know, Greta is a vegetarian that also eats fish). Well, since I do eat meat, I’ve got a recipe that includes some-a that meat. My dude and I made an acorn squash filling that was Southwestern style and then fed it to my brother when he came over for dinner. Even my brother who isn’t into the healthy alternative eating enjoyed it! Success!

So here’s what you need:

• 2 or 3 Acorn Squash
• Turkey or Chicken Sausage (we used Applegate Farms Andouille Sausage from Whole Foods) 
• 1 Small Onion Chopped
• 1/2 Medium red bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can of black beans
• 1 cup shredded swiss or Jack cheese
• 1 avocado

So whatcha do is: Take all the steps listed in Greta’s post for cooking the squash/delicious shell that will hold your Southwestern innards.

While your squash is baking away, coat a large skillet with olive oil spray (if you don’t have an olive oil sprayer, run to your nearest Bed Bath and Beyond/open a new tab on your computer and go to Amazon for a Misto olive oil sprayer NOW. I will include a picture so

you know what I’m yelling at you about). Then add your chicken sausage and warm it (it’s already cooked). Add onion and bell pepper to the sausage until softened (3-5 minutes). Then, add your chili powder and cumin. Cook for 30 seconds.  Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, beans, salt and hot sauce. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the tomatoes are broken down, 10 to 12 minutes.

When the squash are tender, reduce oven temperature to 325°. Fill the squash halves with the turkey mixture. Sprinkle a little cheese on top and then place on the baking sheet and bake until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

Then it will look like this shiz:

And this shiz:

It was a hanger busting dinner, that’s for sure. And pretty easy to make, might I add. Yes, I might.

So go forth in more acorn squash de-hanger and spice up your life with the innards of the Southwestern variety. YAY.