First off, I’d like to thank Zesty for asking me to do a guest post while he is away.  I was completely honored when asked and agreed immediately.  Thanks again Zesty!

My favorite part of Zesty’s posts are always his Zesty Tip at the end.  The tips are so simple, yet so helpful.  So, today I present you with my favorite Heather Tip as well as a recipe.

I know many cooks often find substitutions for the fat component in recipes.

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Hi Zesty readers, Megan here from Megan’s Munchies here to share with you another great sweet treat.

While Zesty is off sunning in beautiful Jamaica, I thought I would share one of my favorite cookie recipes with you. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches were a big favorite of mine when I was younger. These peanut butter and banana chocolate chip cookies remind me of the comforting taste of those sandwiches with a little extra chocolate kick.

Everything is better with a little chocolate…right? This recipe is adaptable to several diets. For those with dietary allergies, these cookies have no dairy if you use dairy free chocolate chips from Enjoy Life. For those allergic to peanuts, soy nut butter can be used. I use oat flour when I make these, and they come out very soft and chewy.

If you want a crisper cookie you can use all purpose flour. These cookies are amazing when eaten warm! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• ¼ Cup maple syrup or agave nectar
• ¼ Cup brown sugar
• ¼ Cup canola oil
• ¼ Cup mashed bananas
• ½ Cup peanut butter or soy butter
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 1 Cup oat flour
• ¼ Cup mini chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together maple syrup/agave nectar, brown sugar, canola oil, peanut butter/soy butter, mashed bananas, and vanilla.
3. Add the flour and salt. Mix to combine.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Roll dough into teaspoon sized balls and place on baking pan.
6. Press down on the balls of dough with a fork.
7. Bake for 15- 20 minutes.
8. Makes 2 dozen cookies.



9. ENJOY!

If you enjoyed this recipe pay Megan a visit over at her blog.  If you like desserts, you will find tons of great dessert and cookie recipes for all your cravings!  Thanks again Megan for a great post.

Middle of the week has arrived and what a week it has been.  Can you believe I woke up to snow yesterday - unbelievable!!  Luck may have it, I decided to park the car in the driveway the night before instead of the garage.   I didn’t use the garage because I just put gas in the car and the fumes can be unbearable.  I did not think for a second that I would have to scrape snow off the car before heading to the office.  Such a disappointment.

In brighter news, Shelby received the first ever zesty apron and she said it is “AWESOME”.  Thanks Shelby.  I hope you get lots of use out of it.  I am going to create a page where I can display all the images of people who bought zesty gear.  I am so excited!

Now, onto the recipe, how about a healthy chocolate monkey?  I am a huge fan!  I started making these a little while ago but just realized that I should have shared this quick recipe with you.  The ingredients are quite simple and easy to find.  The chocolate comes from “chocolate milk“, either 1% or Soy and the monkey comes from a banana.  I also like to add a heaping scoop of protein, flax seeds and a dollop of plain yogurt for thickness.

Next time you are in a hurry, need a chocolate fix or just craving a pick me up… try this monkey on for size.

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Happy Easter to you! I hope you had a great weekend. For our family, the Easter egg hunt was a lot of fun and the food was great as well.  Easter morning is a nice relaxing time to spend with the family.  We like to enjoy a slow pace breakfast then hunt for Easter eggs that the Easter bunny dropped off!

Today, I thought I would share with you a couple of new renditions of the super star toast that I posted a little while ago.

This concoction is a great way to play around with toast combinations and add variety to the everyday breakfast.

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Happy Friday!  WOW what a week.  I am pretty excited to see the weekend around the corner.  I had a lot of fun this week especially the blogging aspect of it.  Despite the fact that zestycook.com consumes a large majority of my waking day… I love it!

Today, I thought I would share with you my take of a classic bread -  Banana Bread!  One of my all-time favorite loafs and a great way to use ripened bananas.

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