When I first came to Korea I’d arrived at a coffee shop called Pascucci’s. I wasn’t sure where I was going, I was supposed to meet Jordan where I was, since he had told me it would be too difficult to find his apartment, due to my history with map reading skills /cough, I can’t even call them skills because they are just horrible. However, working in Montreal, I had to use my GPS a lot to get around, and fortunately for me, I finally got a hand of how to comprehend directions. I’m still absolutely horrible but I can get from point A to point B with little too no difficulty. When I got to the café, I spoke to Jordan on Skype. My computer was dying, I was insanely tired, and would have had to wait for him to get to the café for another couple of hours. Fortunately Jordan gave me some directions, telling me by STORE names and not street names (not that that’s even a possibility, since in Korea there aren’t really street names). He gave me three things to look for, a 7/11, a place called Family Mart, and his apartment building that says Tres Belle on it.
To my delight, I found the apartment. I put my bags away. Took a quick shower. Did a few dishes for him. After that, I decided to peek into the fridge and cupboard. When I opened the cupboard I saw four huuuuuge cans of oatmeal, wow, he really wasn’t kidding when he said he was trying to bulk up. I then open the fridge and there are seven or eight one liter cartons of milk. Food other than that? Some dried fruit, nuts, and onions.
Since then, clearly we’ve had to do some groceries since for my snacks, and breakfasts I don't consume cows milk for one, and eating oatmeal for breakfast along with rice for lunch and dinner, well that’s just way too much for my stomach to handle.
Over the weekend, as I said, I wanted to start making my own meals since the Korean dishes have been upsetting my stomach. In Korea… it’s not really customary to separate bananas, and honestly, if you aren’t buying your bananas from a fruit vendor, or the pre-packaged bananas which contain simply two bananas, you need to go for the big guns. What I mean by this is, you get about 20 bananas for three or four dollars, well, that is a heck of a lot of bananas for two people.
Yesterday as I was sitting in the café I was trying to think of some breakfasts or snacks I could make (other than oatmeal for breakfast) where I can include bananas. I remembered cookies I enjoy making around Christmas time, called no-bake cookies. These cookies usually include oats, peanut butter, butter, sugar, eggs, I toss in coconut, and chocolate.
Seeing as the ingredients that are available to me are a little scarce to say the least, I wanted to come up with a cookie where I could use up some bananas and use ingredients I had on hand. After re-capping what usually goes in thiese cookies I went to work. To work I went, and my to a party my taste buds went, ah yes they were singing! Delicious and healthy cookies all in one? Perfection.
No-Bake Chocolate Banana Quinoa Cookies
- 3 small bananas, cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate
- 1 scoop peanut butter protein powder
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1/3 cup soy milk
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 cups quinoa flakes
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- Dash of salt
Directions:
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine banana chunks, chocolate, peanut butter, protein powders, cinnamon, maple syrup, milk and salt. Heat for 2-3 minutes or until just beginning to bubble.
Using a potato masher or fork, mash the bananas in chocolate mixture until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in oats until well-coated.
Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool. Chill in fridge or freezer for a more solid cookie.
What kind of treats do you like to make for yourself for a vacation?
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