As I mentioned in my Vi-Shape Nutritional Drink Mix Review, I don’t JUST use the delicious mix for smoothies. I throw it into homemade granola bars, cookies, muffins, and more.
With a lot of young people around the house, I try valiantly to have as many healthy snacks and foods available for them as possible. While my husband and I look at granola bars and wheat muffins with great affection, most of the younger crowd just walk right pass them.
I’ve even seen a few shield their eyes from wheat muffins before!
When trying to think of creative ways to use my beloved Vi-Shape mix in a new way, I came up with a few goals:
- include a few healthy ingredients, along with the Vi-Shape mix
- come up with something people of all ages could enjoy
- see if I could come up with a cookie that could be enjoyed EVEN at Christmas and other holidays
- incorporate chocolate (always a goal)
- use mostly simple ingredients
- keep the process as simple as possible
I came up with the recipe below. A chocolate cookie including Muesli (HEALTY!), self-rising flour (knocking out a few extra ingredients), bananas (healthy), and Vi-Shape drink mix. The recipe, as is, has a strong banana flavor. I’m wild about bananas, so this was right in my wheelhouse. If you aren’t wild about bananas, substitute them with 2/3 cup applesauce or just go with one banana and 1/3 cup applesauce.
Muesli Chocolate Banana Cookies
2 bananas, mashed
2 cups Muesli (I use Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli)
1 cup Self Rising Flour
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
3 scoops Vi-Shape Mix
2 tablespoons Natural Cane Turbinado Sugar (this one’s the reason “mostly” is italicized above)
1 egg
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup vegetable oil
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Prepare your cookie pan by spraying lightly with oil.
- After mashing (or, as I actually call it when not trying to sound professional, smushing) the bananas, simply add all of the other ingredients.
- Mix with a wooden spoon.
- Place the cookie mix onto the cookie sheet by rounded tablespoons – I use a little scoop I swear by.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
Optional: After the cookies cool off, drizzle a little icing on top. I simply combined 2 scoops of Vi-Shape Mix with enough Heavy Whipping Cream to produce a “drizzling” consistency. I should have used milk – in keeping with the “healthier” theme, but what can I say? I went rogue.
and it’s my pleasure to do so now.
