5-Minute Traveler’s Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie

Many of you may not know that I’m a bit of a health nerd.

Having been blessed with some confusing medical issues and after watching my health steadily deteriorate as I got older, I turned to healthy food and supplements to heal myself naturally.

After almost 3 years of trial and error, hundreds of hours of research, and what seems like gallons of blood given for Dr’s tests, I’ve finally gotten myself to the point where I’m the healthiest I can ever remember being. But more on that later…

I’m equally as passionate about wellness & healthy foods, as I am about travel. But so what?! Why does that matter to you?

Well, sometimes, just sometimes, my two passions collide and create MAGIC.

(or maybe chaos…depends on who you ask…)

But today I’m going to show you a little of the magic that happened today in the kitchen of the apartment I’m renting in Malaga, Spain.

The Amazingly Healthy 5-Minute Traveler’s Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie

Nom nom nom, you say? Nom noms is right.

This is a recipe (if you can call it that) for an amazingly simple, delicious and healthy dessert that takes only a few minutes to make. You do not need an oven (although it would turn out great in the oven too!), and you only need 3 ingredients.

It’s perfect if you’re a backpacker on a budget in a hostel, a digital nomad renting an apartment, a lazy college student, or simply in a hurry and in NEED of something sweet.

Trust me – I need chocolate on a daily basis, so I’m not judging.

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RECIPE:

Ingredients

– 1 small, ripe banana

– 1/2 to 1 cup of oatmeal, depending on size of banana

– 1-2 squares of a dark chocolate bar, broken into pieces/slivers

– Optional: honey if you have a big sweet-tooth. Cinnamon. Nuts. Raisins. Alien toes. Whatever else tickles your fancy.

Appliances/Utensils

– 1 bowl/mug/plate

– 1 fork

– 1 microwave*

*For serious health nuts: I know microwave cooking is a no-no, but ovens generally don’t exist in southern Spain, and a chocolate-loving girl has needs OK!

Step 1: Using your fork, break the banana up into chunks/slices in the bowl. Heat banana in the microwave 15-30 seconds…

…until you can mash it up & it’s nice and soupy.

Step 2: Pour in oats & mix well.

Make sure the mixture isn’t too wet; you want the oats to be held together by the banana, but the mixture is going to be a little more dry than an average cookie mix. You’re not making a bowl of oatmeal here, so don’t add liquid!

Tip: 1/2 cup of oats should work most of the time so start with that, but slowly mix in more if the banana was really big and the mixture is very wet.

Step 3: Break up your chocolate into little chunks/slivers and throw ’em in.

Don’t worry if your chunks aren’t even; they’re going to melt into the cookie anyways!

It’s also the time to mix in your honey, cinnamon or aliens.

Step 4: Heat in the microwave for 1.5-2 minutes, then check it. Cook for an additional 1 minute at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.

It should be kind of spongy, only a little hardened on the top (like baked oatmeal if you’ve ever had that). Microwave powers vary so much that I don’t want to give a definitive time, plus the only thing that matters is that the chocolate chunks have melted, and that it’s not wet like breakfast oatmeal.

Step 5: Devour.

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Today when I made this I doubled it, and flattened the mixture over the bottom of a large flat round bowl. This made one giant delicious chocolate chip cookie, perfect for sharing (2-3 people). I also drizzled the slightest bit of honey and sprinkled a dash of cinnamon over the top once it was done.

You could do the same thing on a plate, or even cook it in a mug.