For the first few months of our marriage, I honestly felt like I was married to a tiger mom’s over-involved ten year-old who had their sights set on making it into Harvard.

No, seriously.

Tom was in a myriad of weekly activities that were very well-rounded and would look mighty impressive on any college application:

1.  Baseball in Hispanic Baseball League
   • No, he doesn’t speak Spanish. Yes (or should I say “si”) this meant he could literally not communicate with some of his teammates.
2. Kickball in Work League
3. Softball in Local Rec League
4. Men’s Bible Study/Book Group

Now being that there are only seven days in a week, you can see that Tom was a busy man. Layer in church, spending time with friends, and work being insane for both of us…well, you could say we were a bit time-strapped.

Now that we’ve moved into fall and winter, I wish I could say we’re less busy. But swap in fall ball, me taking a class at St. Thomas*, and the ever-approaching hockey and broomball season…and I can tell you that we’re not.

{*VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I may be spending two very long evenings a week at St. Thomas, but this does not change my feelings one iota: Gustavus>St. Thomas. BY A LONG SHOT. #beatembustem #gustieswillshine}

I digress…

Anywho, oftentimes when we’re in seasons that are busy the first thing to go is the health of our diet. In the midst of juggling our responsibilities we will often prioritize food that is quickly prepared (or bought) instead of food that takes cooking of any kind. We tell ourselves that we simply don’t have time to meal plan or actually make a recipe that requires chopping something–so we justify our frozen meals, take-out, or on-the-go “health” shakes and bars that often contain more sugar, sodium, and/or carbohydrates than we need in an entire day.

On top of all this, many of us will even succumb to skipping meals in our busy seasons. The easiest meal to skip? You guessed it: breakfast.

When the alarm goes off before 6AM the last thing Tom and I want to do is put together a well-balanced meal that will get our metabolisms ready for the day. We literally wake up at the last. possible. second. necessary to get up and get out the door. In our perfected “thirty-minutes-from-sleeping-to-leaving” routine we only have time to grab and GO.

{Note: In our morning routine we actually manage to shower, get ready, make the bed (yes, we make our bed everyday. yes, I know that’s weird), get our food together, and get out the door in thirty minutes. We have literally timed ourselves to when the WCCO morning news has different segments come on to know if we’re behind schedule. For example, if they’re on the “4 Things You Need to Know” segment and you’re not dressed yet? YOU ARE GOING TO MISS THE BUS. }

And due to the fact that (as I’ve already mentioned) grab and go options do not tend to be good for you, we have needed a solution that can give us the energy we need to kick-start our day, be something low in sugar and carbohydrates, and also keep Tom full until lunch (this is the tough one. woof.)

In these rushed mornings, Tom’s default is to grab a Costco muffin and an apple, but Costco muffins are kinda, sorta intense…like how Tom’s favorite blueberry-variety has 609 calories, 71 carbs, 40 grams of sugar kind of ‘intense’. My default is just to grab an apple…but then I need like eight tablespoons of peanut butter to make me feel full. In all frankness, neither of our default options are all that good for us.

So…where’s the compromise?

Here’s our answer:

• Swapping white flour-based muffins and bars for a oat/banana mixture that creates a dense, chewy, and filling base for the breakfast cookie
• Using raisins to maintain the sweetness Tom loves from his Costco muffins…but avoiding the refined sugar
• Adding lots of cinnamon for a flavor kick and to create the flavor profile of a delicious oatmeal raisin cookie

| Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Bites |

Serves: 6 Tom’s (3 per serving) or 9 Alaina’s (2 per serving)

Ingredients Needed:

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 cup quick-cook oats
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a large bowl, mash ripe bananas into a puree

• Stir in quick-cook oats, raisins, and cinnamon

• Using a cookie-scoop (or spoon, let’s get real), drop tablespoon-sized “bites” onto an ungreased cookie sheet or silpat-lined cookie sheet

• Bake for 15 minutes (or until slightly crisp on the edges of the bites)
• Once baked, let cool on the cookie sheet for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling

  

• Once cooled, place in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and toss in the freezer!
  • These bites are now READY TO GO anytime you need them. Grab two to three on your way out the door and let them thaw on your desk until you’re ready to eat ’em! 

So here’s the dealio…these bites are delish. They literally taste like an oatmeal raisin cookie…yet they have absolutely no refined sugar and only four ingredients. And while they may look tiny, these bites pack a punch of flavor…and yet only have 46 calories, 10 carbs, and 5 all-natural sugars per bite. Each bite has just enough “oopmh!” to make you feel satisfied after eating them and (most importantly) keep you feeling full until lunch.

With recipes like these breakfast bites in my back pocket, it makes our crazy schedule feel a little less overwhelming. It’s simply comforting to know you have easy, healthy options for meals (or snacks!) that can be ready-to-eat whenever your hunger strikes. And on top of all that, as a wife it makes me feel good that I can have a healthy option for Tom that he loves and actually chooses over a Costco muffin.

It may seem silly, but little victories like having your husband choose the healthier option willingly make me feel like like I’ve won the lottery. Why? Because it’s one thing to just cook food that I can eat that Tom will tolerate–it’s another to cook food that he loves and that he asks for again and again.

As I’ve said before, I believe cooking is an act of love and I love my husband more than anything in the world…but it’s also so important to me that if he’s eating healthy he’s also happy. And with these bites I can say he is definitely both happy AND healthy.

So in closing, here’s the “4 Things You Need to Know” about these bites:

1. A serving for a “Tom” is 3 bites; a serving for an “Alaina” is 2 bites.
2. If you’re extra hungry, the bites are delicious paired with an apple.
3. I like whipping these bites up on a weeknight evening or Sunday afternoon–they only take thirty minutes in total to put together…including prep and clean-up!
4. In a pinch, they can also be served as a dessert. Just throw some on a plate an hour (or however long you have) before your company arrives and POOF you have delicious (and sneakily healthy) homemade “oatmeal raisin cookies” to serve your guests.

So there you go: the “4 Things You Need to Know” are that simple. But since this segment is happening I better run…I have an odd sensation that I’m late for something. And with our busy schedule, there’s actually a pretty good chance I probably am….

Here’s to making many more culinary compromises…all in the name of love.

xoxo,

alaina