Yes, this is a lengthy title we’ve got going on for our recipe for Oatmeal Cookies with Bananas Cranberries & Walnuts. And, it’s true, some folks may prefer to skip the nuts. But we very intentionally included walnuts. So even when naming this recipe, we chose to keep the nuts. And before we drive you too nutty with nut talk, we promise to explain why we believe the walnuts to be so important.

Of course, by all means, if you’re allergic to walnuts, do not include the nuts! But for all who avoid nuts for the sake of preventing calories from fat, please, please, please, read on!

Walnuts do much more than add loads of welcomed crunch and flavor to this quick and easy cookie recipe. Like most nuts, they’re incredibly nutritious!

The idea of keeping dishes low in fat is always part of the plan. But making sure that every post is plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, tastes fantastic, and is decidedly healthy, well, that’s the main thing! So let’s take a second to explore the nuts and bolts of this recipe. Fat is a component of diet and nutrition that is often confusing to folks trying to eat healthily.  

“Fat” is a word with many meanings. There are differences between body fat and dietary fat. But even with the significant variants between the two, many of us believe that all fat is bad.

But here’s the thing, fat is not ALL bad. Research has uncovered the benefits of eating dietary fats identified as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. And luckily, these beneficial fats are readily available in easy to access plant-based foods such as walnuts and avocados. So if you are one of the nine in ten people who are worried about consuming dietary fat, read on!  

Good Fat

We embrace good fats through a diet of nutrient-dense foods that replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats. Walnuts, as we use in this satisfying recipe for Oatmeal Cookies with Bananas Cranberries & Walnuts, are a good-fat food. They supply a rich source of plant-based omega-3. And as a bonus, the walnuts add a snappy little crunch to this healthier treat.

As usual, we went to our favorite nutritional information source before daring to venture into the hot, thoroughly misunderstood topic of fat. If you would like to explore the truth behind the value of healthy fats further, we suggest watching this piece from Dr. Michael Greger of Nutrition Facts. According to recent studies, the skinniest people eat the most nuts, and the fattest people eat the least!

And get this, nuts even BOOST fat burning within the body! And to quote our favorite nutrition-minded doctor, “The evidence is stronger than ever that the consumption of nuts does not lead to the weight gain one would expect.”

Why We Choose to Bake Gluten-Free

Another aspect of this recipe for Oatmeal Cookies with Bananas Cranberries & Walnuts we know you’ll appreciate is that, like all of our food here, it’s naturally gluten-free.

In addition to enjoying plant-based foods free from meat and dairy, we also choose to eat gluten-free for the sake of noticeably improved digestion and other benefits such as improved mood and mental clarity.  

While we are thankfully not struggling with the health issues related to celiac disease, we do avoid gluten wherever possible due to its recent association with interfering with brain health. 

As you may be aware, the diagnosis of Autism, Depression, Dementia, and Alzheimers Disease are all on the rise. We believe that thinking long and hard about what we eat can at least help address some of these serious concerns. Here’s an informative video on the subject of diet when it comes to the symptoms of autism.

Now, back to the subject of the recipe for Oatmeal Cookies with Bananas Cranberries & Walnuts.

These cookies take mere minutes to stir together and bake, and you will feel good about eating every last bite!

They primarily hold together by mashed banana, which we find to be utterly remarkable. There’s no egg to bind the oats, nuts, and cranberries together, and no oil to add moisture, either. But man, are these cookies ever moist!

If you like, you can leave out the tiny bit of raw sweeteners that we add to make this cookie taste like the treat that it is. But by all means, try the recipe as it is before you take the sugar away. We have made cookies using only fruit to sweeten, and the results have been tasty, but in the case of this cookie, we preferred to treat it like a genuine treat!

Sharing is Caring

When you make a batch, feel welcomed to leave a comment and tell us how they taste. We can hardly wait to hear about your experience. 

And as they say, sharing is caring, so feel free to pin this recipe on Pinterest to keep it handy. We also encourage you to share the recipe on Facebook and other social media venues. Getting the word out about the benefits of living a delicious plant-based lifestyle is a gift to the folks lucky enough to catch a peek… so share away!

For even more recipes from like-minded cooks, we invite you to join our Facebook Group called: VEEG Plant-Based, Vegan, Gluten-Free Recipes & Lifestyle. And by all means, follow our VEEG Facebook Page, too. On our Facebook Page, we often share helpful bits of encouraging plant-based news.

Happy eating!